A dictionary of saintly women

A DICTIONARY

OF

SAINTLY WOMEN

GEORGE BELL AND SONS

LONDON : PORTUGAL ST., LINCOLN'S INN

CAMBRIDGE: DEIGHTON, BELL & co.

NEW YORK : THE MACM1LLAN CO.
BOMBAY : A. II. WHEELER & CO.

A DICTIONARY

OF

SAINTLY WOMEN

BY

AGNES B. C. DUNBAR

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOLUME I

LONDON
GEORGE BELL & SONS

YORK HOUSE, PORTUGAL STREET, LINCOLN'S INN, W.C.

1904

t)&

v- 1

ZTo

CAROLINE

VISCOUNTESS SHEKBllOOKK
THIS BOOK IS

BY PERMISSION

DEDICATED

PREFACE

FOR nearly half of a long life it has been my vocation to collect
and arrange legends and records of women worshipped as saints or
so considered. Although the work has been to me a sanctuary
from the anxieties and vexations of daily life, I have, during the
whole time, been painfully conscious of my unworthiness to write
on the subject of saints, and my inability to approach the degree
of excellence to which such a book might attain in better hands.
From the mass of information— often contradictory — concerning this
vast multitude, I have selected the most remarkable incidents. Some
of these are chosen on account of the historical importance of the
heroine, her noble character or wonderful gifts, or because of some
interesting side-light which they shed on customs or beliefs of her
time and country. Some few stories have been included as examples
of the extreme absurdity to which these memorials have reached.
Where there are several saints of one name they are arranged
chronologically.

My information has been gathered largely from the Ada
Sanctorum of the Bollandists. from the histories of the various
countries and religious orders to which these saintly women belonged,
from collections of Lives and legends, and from many other sources.
Authorities are given for each article. A list of the books con
sulted will be found at the end of the second volume. I have
generally abstained from criticising or expressing a personal opinion.
Where I have said that a story is untrue or an author untrustworthy,
the statement is made on the authority of some accredited Catholic
writer.

There are moments when it seems as though the presenting of a
subject so remote from modern tendencies almost asks for an apology.
If such be needed, let it be found in the reflection that in the same
way as the monasteries preserved the slumbering germs of culture
and civilization through hundreds of years of barbarism, so, throughout
the darkness of the Middle Ages and the spirit-deadening struggle

viii PREFACE

for material prosperity, it was by those who are remembered as saints
that the light of the Christian ideal was kept alive.

It appears that there is at present in English no complete
dictionary of the Christian saints. When such a work comes to be
written I trust that my book may be of use to the compiler.
Meanwhile, I hope that readers will find in these pages any sainted
woman for whom they are likely to look and some of whom they
probably never heard.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to the kind friends who have
helped me in various ways. Many of them have passed over the
dark river ; to those who remain I offer heartfelt thanks. I commend
my subject to the toilers and the idlers of the busy world, and my
work to their indulgence.

A. B. C. D.

LONDON,

September, 1904.

ABBREVIATIONS

AA.SS.
A.R.M.
B.
c.
M.

Mart. .
O.S.A. .
O.S.B. .
O.S.D.
O.S.F. .
Proter
RM. .
Yen. .
V.

. Acta Sanctorum.
. Appendix to Roman Martyrology.
Blessed.

. Martyr, martyred.

. Martyrology.

. Order of St. Augustine.

. ')rder of St. Benedict.

. Order of St Dominic.

. Order of St. Francis.

. Pnutermissi.

. Roman Martyrology.

Venerable.

Virgin.

Died.

ERRATA

Abia : for " THECLA (1)," raid "THECLA (16)."
Anna (19) : for " Legnitz," read " Leignitz."
Basilica (2) : for " PLACIDIA (1)," read " PLACIDA."
Benedicta (17) : for " Varasio," read " Varese."
Britta (1) : for " July 3," read " July 13."
Catherine (10) : for " Varasio," read « Varese."
Dionysia (o) : for " VICTORIA (19)," ra«Z " VICTORIA (24).
Emily (1) : for " Nyassa," rea^ "Nyssa."

A DICTIONARY OF SAINTLY WOMEN

St. Aagot, AGATHA.

St. Ab, EISBA.

St. Abba or ALLA, May 7, M. in
Africa, with an immense number of
others, of whom about t>0 are named.
AA.SS. Boll, from the Mart, of St.

J< r<m«'.

B. Abbatissa, first abbess of the
Order of the Holy Ghost at Salamanca,
about 1 1 th century. Guenebault, Die.
Iconographique.

St. Abda, March ;n, M. in Africa.
M<t,-t. lllnnnn.nse. AA.SS.

St. Abdela (ADELA, ADLA), 1.5th
century. Princess of Bohemia. Abbess
of Gerenrhoda. Half-sister of ST. AGNES
of Bohemia. Daughter of Premislaus
Ottocar I., king of Bohemia (11 98-1 230),
by his wife Abdela or Adela, daughter of
( )tto, margrave of Meissen. The queen
was divorced, cither on the ground of
consanguinity or on account of her
hiding with her brother in a quarrel
with the king. She then became a
Cistercian nun at Wassenburg, in
Meissen, leaving, besides Abdela, two
daughters and a son. Fabricius,
(ti-iijiin* Sn.i-onum, numbers St. Abddu
nrnon^ tin- saint > of Saxony. Chanowski,
Bo!" '. Dlugoech, JJtftl. Pofomeo,

ii. i'i4'». Palacky, Gcscltichte von ]!"!/-

//, ii., Genealogical Table.

St. Abia, otherwise MAKIAMNA (3).
See THEOLA (1).

St. Abiata, V. M. See BAIUTA.

St. Abundantia ( I ), Jan. 29,
called in French AKONDAM r. or MONDK.
A widow who lived at Spoleto, and
buried St. Gregory and other martyrs

there, during the persecution by Dio
cletian, c. 300. Jacobilli, Santi DclV

St. Abundantia (2). V. Jan. 10
and July 15. "f" 80 4-. Represented as a
child, before the imago of the Virgin
Mary, receiving a golden apple from the
Infant Jesus. Born at Spoleto, of
parents who had long been childless.
I ler birth was announced by the spon
taneous ringing of the bells of the town.
At her baptism lamps were lighted
without human hands. One day, when
about eight years of age, she was seized
with a longing for a golden apple she
saw in the hand of an image of the
Infant Christ in His mother's arms.
Ho gave it to her. She ran to fetch
Him a bouquet in return, and although
it was mid-winter, she found plenty of
beautiful flowers, which she gathered
and presented to the Holy Child.
Majolo, or Nicholas, abbot of St. Mark's,
at Spoleto, undertook her education.
He took her to Palestine, where she
remained some years. She spent five
years as a recluse in the cave of St.
Onuphrius, and then, as her father kept
constantly asking to have her homo
again, she returned to Spoleto. At her
father's death she gave all her inherit
ance to the poor. The same mysterious
ringing of bells which hailed her birth
was also heard at her death, in S04 ; and
where her funeral passed, leaves and
flowers burst forth in January, and
angels were heard to sing V<ni tponsa
Clnisti. She performed miracles of
healing in life and after her death.

ST. ABYCE

Ferrarius, Catalogue, Jan. 19. Bncelinus,
Men. Ben., July 15. Guerin, Dec. 25.
Cahier, Caraeteristiqucs, " Images."
Petin, D*V. Hag.

St. Abyce or ABYCIA, Aug. 24,
prioress in England, according to Gucrin
and Petin. Perhaps a mistake for ST.
ALICE HIGH, who is honoured on this
day.

St. Acacia, March 29 (ACATIA,

ACHATIA, ACHATIO, AciIARTIO), M. at

Antioch, with about 250 others. Boll.
AA.SS. from old MS. Martyrologies.

SS. Acapis, Cionia, and Herene,
with IXGEXIAXA, Saturninus, and
Secundus, April 1. Mentioned in Mart,
of Heiclienau. The first three appear to
be AGAPE, CHIOXIA, and IRENE.

St. Achachildis or ATZIX. llth
century. Supposed to be a sister of
ST. CUNEGUND, the empress. Achachildis
is represented: (1) presenting five in
fants to her husband ; (2) performing
various charitable miracles. She had
five children at a birth, after which she
and her husband took a vow of celibacy.
She passed her life as a benefactor of the
poor. Her tomb was found, in 1-147, at
Wendelstein, near Schwabach. On the
stone was an inscription, calling her a
holy woman and founder of the parish
church of the place. After the discovery
of the grave, many miracles of healing
occurred, especially on behalf of children,
and gifts of wax and many other offer
ings were made in consequence. The
place afterwards became protestant, and
the worship ceased. Stadlcr und Heim,
Heiligen Lex ikon.

St. Achartio, ACACIA.

St. Achatia, ACACIA.

St. Achatio, ACACIA.

St. Achia, ECHEA.

St. Acrabonia and Askama, June
29, otherwise DEURIS and CARIA, wives
of Agrippa, who were converted by St.
Peter from a sinful life to virtue and
Christianity. Honoured in the Abys
sinian Church. Papebroch, in AA.SS.

St. Acrosia, June 29, a disciple of
St. Peter the apostle. Honoured in the
Abyssinian Church. Boll. AA.SS.
Petin, Die. Hag.

St. Acteie, June 26, at Rome.
of Rcichenau.

St. Actinea and Grseciniana, W.
MM., Juno 10. Time of Diocletian and
Maximian. Their bodies were dis
covered in the monastery of SS. Justus
and Clement at Volterra in 1140, by
persons who were excavating in search
of the body of St. Clement, a Camaldolese
monk. Boll. AA.SS.

St. Acuta (i;, Jan. 3, M. in Africa.
AA.SS.

St. Acuta (2), April 15, M. in
Mesopotamia. AA.SS.

St. Acuta (3), May G, M. at Milan,
supposed in the time of Maximian.
Mentioned this day, among many others,
in the MS. Martyrology of Eptornac and
others. St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan
(4th century), in a sermon on the
festival of SS. Nazarius and Celsus,
says, " Other cities boast if they have
the relics of one Martyr, but Milan
possesses a population of Martyrs."
Boll. AA.SS.

St. Acutina or AGUTINA, April 12,
one of 79 martyrs, commemorated to
gether in the Martyrolony of St. Jerome.
Henschenius, Boll. AA.SS.

Ada. The following are among the
variants of the names commonly written
Ada, Alice, Adelaide : — ADALHEIDIS,
ADALINDA, ADDULA, ADELA, ADELAIDE,
ADELA'IS, ADELEIDIS, ADELHEIT, ADELIZA,
ADELOJA, ADENETA, ADILIA, ADXA, AD-
NETTA, ADOXETTE, ADRECHILD, ADRE-
HILDIS, ADULLA, AELICIA, AELIZ, AETHEL-
IIEITHA, ALAIDES, ALAIS, ALAYSIA,
ALETIIA, ALEYDIS, ALITH, ALIX, ALIZ,
ALIZETTE, ALIZOX, ATEIS, ATIIALA,
ATHILA, ATHELAIS, AZELIA, ELIZAHKTII,
ETHEL, EZELIND, HADALA, HADELOGA,
ODILIA, OTHILIA, ZELIE, etc.

St. Ada, Dec. 4 (ADENETA, ADXA,
ADNETTA, ADONETTE, ADRECHILD, ADRE-
HILDIS), (3th or 7th century. Abbess.
Niece or granddaughter of St. Engelbert,
bishop of Lo Mans (Nov. 7). She was a
nun at Soissons, and Eugelbert promoted
her to be abbess there, and afterwards
transferred her as abbess to the monastery
of Pre (St. Julian do Prato) at Le Mans.
Bucelinus, Men. Ben. Petin, Die. Hay.
Die. ties AM>ayes. Gynecseum.

St. Adalasenda, Dec. 2:,, June 30
( ADAI.SKXDIS, ADALSIXD ), V. Daughter of
ST. RICTRUDE, and nun under her at

ST, ADKLA

ICarohiennee. Died very young, but
had already attuned to great perfection
in holinos. One of a family of saints.
Imtler, Lires. Petin, Die. Hay., says,
Xun, under her sister, ST. EUSKBIA, at
llamay.

St. Adalinda, the KMPIIESS ADELAIDE.

St. Adalqja, HAI»I-:LO<;A. abbess of
Kitzingen.

St. Adalsendis or ADAI.SIM>. ADALA-

SKVDA.

St. Adausia or AI.AVISA, Aug. i>i«,
31. at Borne. Boll. AA.SS.

St. Addula, ADELA OF PFALZEL.

B. Adela < 1 >, Nov. 23. e. «•:;<) or
864. Of the blood of the dukes of
Anstrasia. Mother of St. Tron, or
Trndo, or Trnyen, priest. Buried on
her own estate at Zeleem, near Dist, in
Brabant. Some of Adela's bones are
preserved in the Benedictine monastery
founded by her son, at the place since
called St. Trond. He died in 693. Le
Mire, Fasti Bdy. Butler, Lives of ilf
/•''///. n, " St. Tron," Nov. 23. Gynecseum.

St. Adela (2j, Dec. 24 (ADDUI.A,
A mi: i. A, and perhaps ADOLEXA ), founder
and abbess of Pfalzel ( Palatiolum ), "f c.
7:51. ST. IRMINA of Horres and ST.
ADKI.A of Pfalzel were daughters of
Dagobert II., king of Austrasiu, some
times called Saint, and honoured Dec.
23. Adela married Alberic, and had
several children. About 7"", being a
widow, she took the veil in a monastery
built for her by Dagobert and St. Mod-
wald, or llodcald, archbishop of Treves,
at Pfal/el on the Moselle. The arch
bishop's sister, ST. SEVER A, was the first
abbess, and was succeeded by Adela.
She is probably that ADOLKXA to whom
ST. ELFLEDA wrote to bespeak her kind
ness and hospitality for another English
abbess on her way to Koine, supposed to
!«• J). Wrnir.n: ,\ (2), St. Boniface
visited her convent OH his way from
Frisia to Thuringia, about 722. She
had at the time a grandson, named
»ry, staying with her, a boy of
1'mirtccn or iit'teen, who read aloud from
the Holy Scriptures while the nuns and
their guest were at dinner.' St. Boniface
remarked that he read very well, and
bade him explain the passage. This the
boy could not do, and Boniface took up

the subject and preached to the whole
community with so much eloquence ami
impressi veness that Gregory told his
grandmother he must go with the holy
man and become his pupil. Adela ob
jected to let her darling go and travel in
heathen lands and unexplored wilds ; but
he feared no danger, and far from listen
ing to any dissuasion, he said if his
grandmother would not give him a horse,
as became the grandson of a king, ho
would follow the missionaries on foot.
Adela saw in the earnestness of the child
a divine call, and furnished him with
what wr.s necessary for the expedition.
From that day Gregory never left St.
Boniface, until he witnessed his martyr
dom at Docking, or Dockum, in Fries-
land.

Achery and Mabillon give a copy of
Adela's will, in which she leaves every
thing to her convent, except an estate
which she bequeaths to her son Alberic.
They call her " pious " rather than " saint,"
as her worship seems uncertain. She is
commemorated in the French Mar tyro-
logy, Dec. 24, and honoured with her
sister Irmina in several martyrologies.

Wion, Liynnin Yitic, p. 520, calls her
"Saint Athela." TVrx <1,-8 S<u'ntt# </<•
France. Lelong, Bill. Hist de France.
Achery and Mabillon, AA.SS. O.S.B., II.
498, Saic. iii. pars. i. p. 531, etc. Petin,
Die. Hag. Brower, Sidcra. Ceillier,
Auteurs sacrcs. Adela, Irmina. and Clo
tilda form one of the TRIADS, who were
probably heathen tribal goddesses. The
pilgrimages to their shrines and the rites
there observed retain traces of paganism.
Eckenstein.

St. Adela (3), Jan. 8 (AI.KI.AIS,
ADELAIDE). -flOTl. Princess of France.
( 'oiintess of Flanders. Abbess of Mee-
sene. The countess-queen. Daugi
of Robert the Pious, king of France, {)!>•;_
Ki31. Sister of Henry I. 1031-1000.
Wife of Baldwin V. (of Lille), count of
Flanders, 1084-1067. Mother of Bald
win VI. Mother-in-law of William the
Conqueror. This appears to be the same
prim-ess who was married in her infancy
tn Hie-hard, duke of Normandy. Whether
Baldwin of Lille was her first or second
husband, she was married to him in lie/
childhood, and was taken by his father,

• ST. ADELA

Baldwin IV., to Flanders, to be brought
up in his own family. The town of
Corbio was her dowry. Baldwin rebelled
against his father, stirred up, says Sis-
mondi, by the pride of his wife, who,
being a king's daughter, thought she
ought to have the first place in the house
of a count. Finding the fortune of war
against him, and no help coming from
the king of France, he craved mercy and
pardon. A reconciliation was made, on
Baldwin swearing, in presence of the
Flemish bishops and barons and of the
bodies of SS. PHARAILDIS, WALBURGA, and
other famous patron saints of Flanders,
to submit to the count's authority and
keep the peace. In the same year, 1031,
Robert, king of France, Adela's father,
died, and was succeeded by his son
Henry I. In 1036 died count Baldwin
IV.,' Belle Barle, after a long and
prosperous reign. He left his country
at peace, both with the Emperor and the
king of France — a circumstance which
had seldom, if ever, occurred before.
Adela's husband succeeded as Baldwin V.
He was constantly at war, either refusing
to do homage to the Emperor or to the
king of France for his possessions, or
punishing others for refusing to acknow
ledge his suzerainty. Nevertheless, he
was considered the best prince of his
time, and was loved by his subjects and
respected by his neighbours. On the
death of his brother-in-law Henry I. of
France (1060), he was chosen regent of
France and guardian of the young king
Philip I., the Fair, Adela's nephew, then
only eight years old. His letter of foun
dation to the church of St. Peter at
Lille says —

"I Baldwin, marquis of the Flemings,
Count, regent of France, guardian of
King Philip . . . considering that by
building a house of God on earth, I pre
pare for myself a dwelling in heaven,
. . . and acquiescing in the good advice
of my wife Aclela, and my son Baldwin
. . . have founded a college of canons to
implore day and night the clemency of
God for . . . my soul, the souls of my
predecessors, my wife and children, and
all faithful souls. . . .

"Done at Lille, in the Basilica of
St. Peter, in the presence of Philip king

of France, in the seventh year of his
reign."

King Philip also signed the deed.
Baldwin and Adela built the Bene
dictine monastery of Meescne. Several
grants by them, to Mecseno and other
churches, arc to be found in Le Mire's
Notitia Ecclesiarum Belyii. They rebuilt
the monastery of Einham, or Iham, on
the Scald, and gave it to the Benedic
tines in 1063. Baldwin made the Fosse'
ncuf, a great canal between Flanders
and Artois. In 1069 he gave his whole
attention to his approaching death and
the completion of his pious works. His
last public act was the dedication of his
new church of St. Bavo, on the site of
the former one, at Ghent. (See ADEL-
TRDDK.) Ho died Sept. 1, ln<59, and
was buried in the church of St. Peter
at Lille, where his tomb and epitaph
wrere to be seen in the 1 8th century. After
his death, Adelaide chose the monastery
of Meesene as her residence, that she
might spend the remainder of her life in
silent prayer. She wished to receive the
religious veil from the hands of the Pope,
and for that purpose went to Rome. She
travelled in a car, covered with a cur
tain, to protect her from wind and rain,
that her prayers might not be inter
rupted on the journey. She obtained
from the Pope some of the relics of St.
Sidronius, as well as the veil and the
papal blessing. She then returned to
Meesene, and remained there until her
death in 1071.

Her children were Baldwin VI. of Mons
(the Good), Robert the Frisian, Henry,
Matilda (married William the Conqueror,
duke of Normandy, and king of Eng
land), Judith (married, 1st, Tosti, brother
of Harold, king of England; 2nd, Guclph,
duke of Bavaria, founder of the younger
line of the house of Guclph, from whom
the present royal family of England are
descended). Baldwin VI. was a good
prince ; in his time, doors were left open,
and people could go about without sticks
or daggers. His secretary, Thomellus,
a monk, has left an account of the youth
of his master, valuable as illustrating
the manners of the time.

A story of the wooing of Matilda by
William of Normandy has often been

ST. ADELAIDE

rejected by modern writers as incredible;
but Lo Glay thinks it not at all incon
sistent with what is known of the times
and the people, and says it is related in
some very old chronicles. The account
is as follows : —

William, duko of Normandy, sent a
message to Ualdwin, count of Flanders,
to ask the hand of his daughter Matilda.
Baldwin was pleased with the offer, but
when ho told Matilda of it, she answered
that she would never marry a bastard.
Iluldwin made the most polite excuses
he could for his refusal. A considerable
time passed before William heard what
the young lady had said. He was ex
tremely sensitive on the subject of his
birth, and bitterly resented any slight
or insult grounded on that misfortune.
When Matilda's answer was told to
him, ho went to Lille; rushed, unan
nounced, into Adela's apartment, where
her daughters wero sitting with her;
seized Matilda by her long plaits, dragged
her through the room, threw her down,
and kicked her; then, disappearing as
suddenly as he had entered, mounted
his horse and rode away to his own
dominions. Very soon alter this strange
incident, the young people were recon
ciled and betrothed. As Pope Leo IX.
raised objections to the marriage, on tho
ground of consanguinity, there was some
delay ; they were married, nevertheless,
at Eu, in 1050, and afterwards obtained
a dispensation, on condition that each
should build a church. William built
the abbey of St. Etieune, at Caen, and
Matilda that of tho Holy Trinity, in tho
same town. Matilda had a great deal of
influence over her husband, which she
always used for good.

Mineus (Le Mire j, Aunalcs Btlyici and
Notitid Ecderiarum 7>' /<///'. lfioyr<ifi<t
K'-flesiastlca (Madrid, 1 ^ IS). Putin, Die.
Jl'i'j. L'Art ilr I'- '/•///</• li:s dates. Le
(ilay, 7//.sV. il,-n Cinuli-x de Flandrr. Sis-
moudi, lli-t. ill1* I'\iniri'is. Freeman,
-V •/•//«/// ('••nijuext, iii. GJ7. Palgravc,
History <f A'"/'///'///</// ami /•«'//_'//'(//</, iii.
l;>7, L'(1>i. Biographic UniverteUe, Lap-

pcnbcrg, Sit.rim KIIKJ- <>/ /•,'// <//r/m/, ii.

St. Adela (4;, of Bohemia, A.BDELA,

^ St. Adelaide ( ij, Juno i>, 27, of

Bergamo, Wife of St. Lupo, prince of

that city, a virtuous ruler though a
heathen. They had a daughter, ST.
(IKATA, who was the first of the three to
become a Christian. Ho built a church,
and was baptized there, with many of
his subjects ; ho lived fifteen years more,
and was buried in his church. Adelaide
and Grata were widows for many years,
and built several churches. Legend
places tho lives of these three saints in
tho time of Diocletian, but Henschenius,
AA.SS., thinks it more likely that they
lived in the 7th, 8th, or !>th century.
The mother and daughter are commemo
rated together Juno 9 ; and separately,
Adelaide, June 27 ; and Grata, Aug. 25.

St. Adelaide (2), Feb. 2. Abbess of
Kit/ingen, HADELOQA.

St. Adelaide (:i)» J)cc. 10, 12, and
17. 992. Empress! Queen of Italy.
Queen of Germany. Called " the Happy"
and " the Mother of the Kings." Tho
richest woman in Europe. For variants of
her name, sec ADA. Adelaide, daughter
of liudolph or Italph II., king of Bur
gundy, and his wife P>ertha of Suabia,
was born about 931. At sixteen she
was married at Milan, to Lothaire, who
soon afterwards succeeded her father as
king of Italy. Pavia was given to Ade
laide as a dowry. In 950 Lothairo
died. His death was attributed to
poisoned wine, given to him during a
feast at Turin, by Berengarius, who
immediately proclaimed himself king, as
Berengarius II. He sought to strengthen
his position by marrying his son Atlel-
bert to Lothaire's widow. But Adelaide
indignantly answered that if she ever
married again it should bo a man who
could avenge her husband's death. She
was besieged in Pavia, and in spite of
tho devotion of her people, and the
heroism and generosity with which, when
provisions failed, she shared everything
with them, a traitor was found to open
tho gates, and before tho queen knew
that tho town was taken, tho enemy
stood before her. At first Berengarius
and Villa, his wife, treated her well;
but as she persisted in her refusal to
marry Adalbert, she was imprisoned at
Como, where she was subjected to all
kinds of insults from Villa, who is
described by Liutprand as tho very worst

0

ST. ADELAIDE

of all the many very bad women in
Italy. In vain, when words of flattery
and of abuse alike failed, did Villa cuff
and kick Adelaide, and drag her by her
hair, to induce her to become her
daughter-in-law. From Como she was
transferred to a castle on the lake of
Garcia, and only allowed the attendance
of her chaplain, Martin, and one maid
servant. Both were, however, devoted
to her ; and Adelhard, bishop of Reggio,
having promised to receive her into a
place of safety, if she could manage to
escape, Martin succeeded in making a
hole in the wall of Adelaide's room,
through which she and her maid crept
in men's clothes. After enduring many
fatigues, and narrowly escaping recap
ture, they succeeded in reaching the
town of Cauossa, a strong fortress on a
steep rock at the foot of the hills close
to Garda, and held by Azo, Adelaide's
uncle, as a fief of Eeggio. From there
she wrote to Otho, emperor of Germany
(936-973), imploring help ; and, at the
same time, the Pope, Agapetus II., ap
plied to him to settle the disturbances
in Italy.

The beauty and accomplishments of
the young queen, combined with her
misfortunes and wrongs, aroused the
sympathy and indignation of civilized
Europe. The princes whose lands bor
dered on the kingdom of Italy took a
double interest in her cause, as there
was always the hope of acquiring for
themselves some little slice of that
pleasant land. Among these were Henry,
duke of Bavaria, the brother of Otho ;
and Liudolph, the Emperor's son by his
first wife, B. EDITH of England. Otho
was touched by the sad fate of Adelaide,
and resolved to help her, and, at the
same time, to turn the present crisis to
his own advantage. He immediately
sent promises of help and proposals of
marriage. The knight who carried the
despatches, unable to make his way into
Canossa, watched as it was by the
enemy's soldiers, fastened the Emperor's
letter to an arrow and shot it over the
wall. As soon as possible, Otho has
tened to Pavia, whose gates opened at
his approach, and there ho was pro
claimed king of the Franks and Lom

bards. At the same time, he sent a
strong force to Canossa to escort Ade
laide to Pavia. She was received at
the gate of the city by the Emporor and
his two brothers, Henry, duke of Bavaria,
and St. Bruno, archbishop of Cologne.
In 951 Adelaide, who little more than
a year ago had left Pavia a prisoner,
re-entered it, amid the acclamations of
the people, as the bride of the Emperor.
Otho, although nearly twenty years
older than Adelaide, was still in the
prime of life, a man of gigantic strength
and great beauty, with long fair hair
and blue eyes of extraordinary brilliancy,
and to these personal advantages he
added barbaric splendour of dress.
Moreover, he was by far the ablest king
who had reigned in Germany since
Charlemagne. Throughout Germany
the new empress was hailed as an angel
of peace, and the events of after-years
justified the good impression she had
made on the people.

Adelaide and Otho sent missionaries
to convert the Sclavonians, and induced
the Pope to appoint bishops in the
countries now called Prussia and Poland.
St. Adalbert, archbishop of Magdeburg,
was sent, in 961, to the Rugi, or Rani,
a people living in Pomerania, between
the rivers Oder and Wipper ; but when
the bishop and his companions arrived,
the people massacred some and sent the
others out of the country. The liugi
continued heathen for two centuries
longer.

In course of time Berengarius broke
an agreement which had been made with
Otho, but was soon defeated, and sent
as a prisoner to J >ambcrg ; his wife,
Villa, who had taken refuge in the
citadel of St. Julius, in the midst of the
lake of Orta, was obliged to surrender,
and, loaded with chains, was brought
before Adelaide. When the empress
mildly remonstrated with her on her
crimes, the prisoner replied, " The only
crime with which I reproach myself is
that I did not kill you when I had you
in my power." Adelaide instantly had
her fetters struck off, and sent her in
safety to her husband. Their son Adal
bert had to cede his possessions to the
bishop of Mocleua, but Adelaide adopted

ST. ADELAIDE

liis t\vo daughters, and brought them up
at her n-urt.

On Feb. 2, W2, the long-deferred
coronation of Otho and Adelaide took
place at Uome, whither they were in-
1 by .lolm XII. ; but, before leaving
Germany, Otlio had liis ymmg son, Otho,
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle. The next
year, at the instance of a council of
bishops, the Emperor deposed Popo
John, on account of his crimes, and
appointed instead liis own secretary, a
layman, as Leo VIII. In 973 Otho
<lied ivt Menileben, universally and
heartily regretted, having been king of
Germany thirty-six years, and Emperor
nearly eleven. He was buried at Magde
burg by the side of his first wife, Edith
of England, and Adelaide spent much
of her time there in religious retirement.
He was succeeded by his son, Otho II.,
who, under the influence of his wife,
Theophauie, banished his mother from
court. Adelaide went to her native
land. The empire, however, did not
prosper in her absence ; the people were
anxious for her return ; and a recon
ciliation having been effected by St.
Majolus, Adelaide kept the Easter
festival of t'Sl at Home, with her son
and his wife.

Otho died at Home in 9 S3, leaving
Theophanie regent for his sou, Otho III.,
then nine years old. Adelaide and
Theophunie, although not always in
perfect harmony, agreed in bestowing an
excellent education on the young king,
who, for his beauty and acquirements,
was called "the Wonder of the World."
One of his tutors was a Frenchman,
Gerbert dAurillac, a man so learned
that he was accused of using magic arts.
Ho was made archbishop of Jiheims, and
ultimately 1'opn Sylvester II. Tho
empresses quarrelled, and Theophanio
boasted that, if she lived a year, Adelaide,
should not have a foot of ground left in
her possession. It seemed probable at
the moment that her life had not one,
but many years to run, but in one
mouth it was cut oft', and Adelai.lt: ruled
uluiie. Jl.-r love for ht •:• grandson kept
her at court when she had grown weary
of its splendour ; and for his sake she
continued to employ herself in worldly

affairs and politics when their yoke had
grown irksome. In 980 the two greatest
crowned heads in Europe were her
grandsons, namely, Otho III., tho Em
peror, and Louis V., king of France;
and this circumstance led Sylvester II.
(Gerbert) to style her " tho Mother of
tho Kings." About this year, if at all,
occurred the extraordinary incident of
the crime and punishment of the em
press Mary. It rests on no contemporary
authority, but is spoken of as a i'act by
accredited historians who lived within
half a century of the events.

Historians do not record the marriage
of Otho III., but the legend, which is
very ancient, has it that he was married
to Mary of Aragou. Mary had fallen
in love — as Isolde with Tristram — with
Count Emmeran, when he was tho Em
peror's ambassador to bring her from
her father's court. As Emmeran was
devoted to his own wife, and loyal to his
master, he ignored the empress's pre
ference, until her love changed to vindic
tive hatred, and she determined that he
should pay for his coldness with his life.
She accused him to her husband. Otho,
in his distress, sought counsel of that
wisest of women, his grandmother. She
advised him to make no scandal. " Let
it not be known," said she, " that any
one mistook the empress for a woman
who could be disloyal." Mary stood in
awe of tho old empress, who had some
times gently reproached her for a certain
lack of circumspection ; she kept quiet
for a time, but her vengeance suffered
her not to rest ; she so wrought on Otho's
feelings that he charged Emmeran with
the crime. Emmoran would not toll the
real circumstances ; he thought it uoblor
to bear the unjust imputation than to dis
grace her, and wreck the young king's
happiness by disclosing the real occur
rences, so he kept silence, and was be
headed. The court was now at Modcna ;
and tho Emperor, in accordance with
immemorial custom, sat in tho hall to
hear complaints and redlOM wrongs.
] found him stood many knights and
nobles, but he was sad for tho loss and
tho supposed treachery of one of his
best and bravest companions, and as he
sighed and mused, there entered a palo

8

• ST. ADELAIDE

lady in a long black cloak, and she
cried —

" Justice, my lord king ! "
" Wliat is your complaint, lady ? "
"My husband has been cruelly slain,
and I crave vengeance on his murderer."
"You shall have it. But who was
your husband ? "

Anna produced from under her cloak
the ghastly head of Emmcran, and de
manded to prove his innocence by " the
judgment of God."

Here, two forms of the story diverge.
The Golden Legend, which does not give
the name of Emmeran, but calls him
" the governor of Modena," says Anna
walked barefooted and uninjured over
nine red-hot ploughshares, which proved,
to the satisfaction of every one, that her
cause was just, and that she spoke the
simple truth when she said her husband
was innocent. Otho confessed himself
guilty of the unjust death of his knight,
and said he was ready to submit to be
beheaded, but the nobles and prelates
gave him a delay of ten days, in which
to investigate the matter; these being
ended, they gave him seven days more,
then six more, by which time all were
convinced that the real criminal was the
empress Mary. Then Otho "dyde do
brenne his wyfe all quycke," and gave
four castles as u'crc-gcld to the widow of
Emmeran. According to another and
probably older tradition, the ordeal con
sisted of plunging her arms into molten
lead. She did not, indeed, take them
out uninjured, but she bravely held them
there, with unmoved countenance, keep
ing her eyes fixed on the empress Mary,
who gazed at her in horrible fascination.
Anna died with her arms in the boiling
lead and eyes fixed on the queen, who,
seized by an impulse beyond her own
control, threw herself at the Emperor's
feet and confessed her crime. She was
at once pronounced guilty of the death
of Emmeran and Anna, and of untruth
to her husband, and was then and there
condemned to be burned alive. The
sentence being executed the next day,
Otho declared his own life forfeited for
having condemned an innocent man ; but
his nobles and the great ecclesiastics
unanimously granted him a reprieve of

seven years, at the end of which it would
doubtless have been further extended
had he lived.

Meantime Adelaide had completed
many of the works she had desired to
do, and she saw that the accomplishment
of other projects must remain unfulfilled
or be left to other hands, for her work
ing day was done, and she must now
prepare for her final rest ; she had out
lived many of her dearest friends, and
all the near relations who at all ap
proached her own age. A great afflic
tion, too, was the death of her daughter,
the abbess MATILDA, who had fulfilled
her dearest aspirations, and to whom she
looked for comfort to the last ; but she
was cut off about a year before her
mother. After Adelaide had retired
from all worldly affairs, she thought it
right to leave her seclusion, in response
to the call of her nephew, lludolph III.,
of Burgundy, who had quarrelled with
his subjects, and wanted her to make
peace. She accomplished this for him,
visiting on her way several churches and
monasteries she had built or endowed.
He came to meet her at Lausanne, and
conducted her to Orbe, where the desired
reconciliation took place. She now be
took herself to the monastery of Saltz,
in the diocese of Strasburg, where she
spent the very short time she still had
to live.

Her talents, her wealth, her piety, her
beauty, her superior education, her dis
cretion, and the universal confidence and
admiration inspired by her character,
combined with her exalted station to
render her a conspicuous figure in Europe
for half a century. She is a rare ex
ample of a woman having immense power
and influence and invariably using it for
good; almost as rare was the courage
with which she bore misfortune and in
justice ; for this woman, so great and so
happy, had also known the depths of
misfortune, insults, blows, starvation, the
hardships and privations of a prison, the
hairbreadth escapes of flight. St. Majolus,
abbot of Cluny, who was at one time her
confessor, considered that she never would
have been the noble, magnanimous, chari
table woman she was, but for these four
months of imprisonment at Garda ; she

ST. ADELAIDE

had time to reflect on a great many
things, and, by God's grace, she resolved
nevi-r t<> condescend to spiteful retalia
tions. Years after, when her enemies
were in her power, she returned them
good for evil. She never forgot a kind
ness or remembered an injury. Besides
many benefactions to divers churches,
nunneries, and other monasteries, she
resolved to make a thank-offering to God
for her worldly prosperity, by building
a church for each of the three crowns
worn by her husband and son ; namely,
those- of Germany, Italy, and the Empire.
Accordingly, she built a monastery in
the kingdom of Burgundy, at Paterniac,

• •filled also Paterae and Peterlingen

• Mabillon), where her mother was buried.
It was dedicated in honour of the Mother
of God, and she gave it to St. Majolus,
who was afterwards abbot of Cluny,
and was succeeded, first at Paterniac,
and then at Cluny, by St. Odilo. She
next built a grand church, dedicated to
the Saviour of the world, in her own town
of Pavia. In l'S7, twelve years before
her death, she founded a monastery at
Salsa, or Seltz, "sub liliertate Bomana"
dedicated to God and St. Peter. It was
eight years in building, and was con
secrated by Widerald, bishop of Stras-
burg, in 905. These arc the three great
foundations named in St. Odilo's Life of
Adelaide. Phele was also of her build-
in. L% and her friend and director, St.
feamagne, was its first abbot.

By her first marriage, she had one
child, Emma, who married Lothaire, king
«•!' France, and was the mother of Louis
V.. called le Faineant, the last of the
Oarlovingian kings; ho only reigned a
io\v months, and was succeeded by Hugh
< 'apet, (JS7, who was Adelaide's second

• •uiisiu by birth, and nephew by marriage.
l>y her second marriage, besides children
who died young, she had Otho II. and
I>. MATILDA, abbess of Qucdlinburg.

Adelaide's romantic adventures were
the subjects of song and legend for a
:ury, particularly in Italy. Her life
is promised by the Uollandists when
their calendar arrives at the middle of
December. The short life of her by St.
Odilo, abbot of Cluny, her friend and
.-sur. i< a narrative of facts related

to him by herself. It is preserved in
Bouquet, Becneil de Documents ; Pertz,
HI utirni cut" : Mabillon; Leibnitz; and
other collections. Among the contem
porary Minuiin-nfn of her time must bo
mentioned the writings of Hrotswitha, a
nun of Gandersheim, which was one of
the great nunneries founded by the house
of Saxony. (Sen ST. HADUMADA.) She
was one of the earliest authoresses of
Germany, and besides her dramas she
has left a panegyric on Otho the Great.

Many interesting particulars of the
reign of Adelaide's husband, son, and
grandson are pleasantly told by Giese-
bivdit, Deutschlands Kaiserzeit. The
Golden Legend gives the nucleus of two
wonderful legends of Otho II. and Otho
III., which are told at greater length
and from older sources by Collin do
Plancy. Bryce, Holy Roman Empire,
and Gregorovius, Bom. in Mittelalter,
give much interesting information about
the state and the customs of Europe
during the reigns of the three Othos.
See also Ditmar's Chronicle; Muratori,
Anna les ; Nouvellc Bioyraph ie Un iversellc ;
Menzol, Hist, of Germany^ Yepez,
Baillct, Butler, Wetzer u. Welt, Wattem-
bach, etc.

St. Adelaide (4), Feb. 5 (ADA,
ALICE), V. of Willich. c. 1015. Daughter
of SS. Mengo or Megeugoz and Gerbcrg,
count and countess of Gueldres. Abbess
of the Benedictine monastery at Willich,
near Bonn, and afterwards of that of Our
Lady of the Capitol at Cologne. She
was educated in a cloister, and was a
pious, sensible, and studious girl. Her
parents, having lost a much-loved son in
battle, determined to dedicate a largo
portion of their wealth to the service of
God. They accordingly built and richly
endowed a monastery at Willich. Ade
laide was appointed abbess of the new
house, but before entering on this
important charge she went to learn the
regular observance in the monastery of
Notre- Dame du Capitolo at Cologne.
She ruled the houso at Willich for
several years, and was distinguished for
her charity, humility, and self-denial.
Il<r mother, ( |KI:I:I-:KI;, became a nun
under her. and died at Willieh ; her
father, 15. Mengo, lived three yearn

10

ST. ADELAIDE

longer, and Adelaide buried him at
Willich beside her mother. His day is
Dec. 19. Her sister Bertrade was
abbess of Notre Dame at Cologne. The
fame of Adelaide's sanctity spread over
the whole diocese, so that, on the death
of Bertrade, the bishop invited Adelaide
to be her successor. She removed to
Cologne, and spent the remaining three
years of her life there, still, however,
maintaining constant intercourse with
and a motherly interest in her Willich.
She is said to have wrought many
miracles both before and after her death.
She procured by her prayers an abundant
and unfailing spring of water in a place
near Willich, where the peasants were
in great distress for want of it. One of
her nuns had so harsh a voice that she
destroyed the harmony of the choir when
she joined in the hymns ; but Adelaide
struck her on the cheek, and she became
permanently possessed of a voice so
sweet and powerful as to be a great
acquisition to the musical services of
the community. Certain nuns were long
too ill to join in the common employ
ments of the rest, but when she rebuked
them as useless and expensive, they at
once recovered. She died at Cologne
about 1015, and the nuns of Willich
wished to have her buried amongst
them ; but St. Heribert, the bishop, said
he would not give up the body of the
holy abbess on any account, not even if
they could give him the body of ST.
AGATHA for it. Adelaide, however,
showed her preference for her first
monastery, for her coffin floated up the
Rhine without oars to Willich, and there
she was buried. AA.SS. Helyot, Ordres
Monastiqucs, v. 53. Bucelinus, Men.
Ben.

B. Adelaide (5) of Susa, Dec.
19. c. 1010-1091. " The mighty Mar
chioness," countess of Turin. Regarded
as one of the founders of the house of
Savoy. That family was already extend
ing its borders on the ruins of the
kingdom of Burgundy, but its first
footing in Italy was given to it by the
marriage with Adelaide, elder daughter
and heir of Manfred, marquis of Susa,
whose rule extended from the top of the
Alps to the Dora Baltea and the Po.

His wife was Bertha, daughter of Aubert,
marquis of Ivrca, and sister of Hardouiu,
king of Italy.

Adelaide married three times: (1)
Herman, duke of Suabia ; (2) Henry of
Montferrat; (3) Odo of Savoy. It is
supposed that she was not very young at
the time of her first marriage. The
marquisate of Susa could not be held by
a woman, but she could transfer her
claim to her husband. Accordingly,
Herman obtained the investiture of the
marquisate from his stepfather, the
Emperor, Conrad II. Herman died, still
young, in 1038, and Adelaide took upon
herself the government of her father's
inheritance. She soon married again,
and it was not long before she was again
a childless widow. In 1044 she married
Odo, son of Humbert, of the race of the
counts of Savoy, lord of the countships
of Maurienue and Tarantaise, one of the
most powerful princes of the kingdom of
Burgundy. Humbert died in 1048,
and was succeeded by his eldest son
Amadeus I., surnamed Cauda, and he,
in 1069, was succeeded by his brother
Odo, the husband of Adelaide. Little
is known of him ; Adelaide is the more
prominent person. With masculine
courage and energy, she knew right well
how to rule. It was of immense import
ance to the family destined to become so
great that Adelaide could hold the
command of the Burgundiau as well as
the Italian possessions of the house.
Far and wide the marchioness of Susa
was known as a woman of no less decision
than prudence. As her sous Peter and
Amadeus grew up, she used them as
assistants, but kept the power in her own
hands. She maintained order and justice
in her territories. She was grasping
and hard, rather feared and respected
than beloved. Her neighbours had to
bo on the alert. She more than once
took up arms against her own towns.
She waged a long war with the citizens
of Asti, and in 1070 she took the town
and destroyed it. The year before that
she had besieged Lodi and reduced it
almost to a heap of rubbish. Thousands
of persons were killed ; cloisters and
churches were not spared. She inflicted
so much misery that when she asked the

ST. ADELAIDE

11

Pope for absolution ho had difficulty in
devising u sufficient penance for her.
was in touch with all the conflicting
movements of that restless time, yet
carried away by none of them, and
ttlthoiigh upright and conscientious, she
ki-pt hi-r eye constantly on the interests
of her own family and country. She
was an enthusiastic partisan of the
(iinnan Imperial side against the Papal
party ; but still she was religious, and
favoured the ecclesiastical reforms then
tmanating from Rome, including steps
and protests against simony and the
marriage of the clergy. Such was the
woman whoso alliance was sought by
the Emperor, Henry III., the lUack, in
order to balance the power of two other
masculine and masterful women, the
marchioness Beatrice of Tuscany, and
her daughter the countess Matilda,
whose influence was often in the opposite
scale to his interests. In 1055 he be
trothed his son Henry at five years old
to P>ertha, the eldest daughter of Ade
laide. In less than a year that good
Emperor died. Henry IV. and l>ertha
were married July 13, 1066, but the
young Emperor meantime had fallen into
bad hands, and suspected everybody.
He supposed his wife to be a tool of his
enemies, and, notwithstanding her beauty
and amiability, he lived apart from her,
and in 1 "<)'.> declared his intention of
being divorced, although he made no
accusation against her. This resolution
was, however, overruled, and when
almost under compulsion he brought her
to court, he fell in love with her, and
they continued to be devotedly attached
to each other as long as Bertha lived.

•id of the brotherly co-operation of
the Emperor and Pope when Henry III.
planned reforms with Leo IX. and his
successor, Victor II., twenty years after
wards, there was a long and obstinate
struggle going on between Gregory VII.
(the famous Hildebrand i and Henry IV.
A violent-tempered, self-indulgent youth
like Henry could never be the victor in
a long and complicated dispute and
rivalry with Gregory, ft far-seeing,
patient, determined man of extraordinary
ability and blameless life. In 1076
Henry drew upon himself the ban of the

Church, which gave strength to many
powerful rebels in his own country,
while it hampered and depressed his
adherents. It was most important to all
his interests to have the sentence re
scinded, and for this purpose ho resolved
to go and meet the Pope, who was now
on his way to cross the Alps and enter
Germany, there to hold a council, which
would probably depose the Emperor and
set up in his place Rudolph of Suabia,
who was married to Adelaide's younger
daughter Adelaide. Henry's mother,
li. AGNES, empress, was in great grief
about him, but although Gregory had a
warm regard for her, she was of little
account in politics, and was powerless to
help or guide her son. In his dire
distress Adelaide of Susa undertook to
assist him, and but for her aid ho would
probably have lost his crown and his
liberty. At the same time, she exacted
from his necessity some increase to her
own dominions, for she bargained for tho
cession of five rich bishoprics as tho
reward of her assistance.

Beauregard supposes that the advan
tage she then obtained from her son-in-
law was tho right to certain territories
and privileges in tho marquisate of
Ivrea, to which she had a claim through
her mother, but which she could not
grasp without the imperial sanction.
She must now have been very near
seventy ; but she, with her son Amadous,
came to meet the fugitive Emperor, his
wife and infant son Conrad, and braved
with them the hardships and difficulties
of the passage across tho Alps in
January, 1077. It was one of tho
coldest winters ever known, and tho
snow lay deep in Rome for weeks ; tho
Rhone and tho Po were frozen so hard
that horses and carriages passed over
on tho ice. The usual routes were well-
nigh impassable. They had oxen led
by the peasants to trample a path Ixjforj
them through tho masses of snow. TIi
horses proceeded with tho greatest diffi
culty, and some of them perished in tho
struggle. Arduous as was tho ascent,
their plight was even worse when they
had passed the summit and begun to
descend on the Italian side — tho way was
so steep and so slippery that they almost

12

ST. ADELAIDE

despaired of getting any further. Creep
ing, climbing, scrambling, rolling, came
the men, cutting their hands on the ice.
The women were dragged along in
sledges made of ox-hides, the guides
holding on to the ice by grappling-irons.
At last they arrived at a hospitable
monastery in the Val cVAosta. They
were well received in Italy, where there
seemed more favour for the king, and
less for the Pope, than in Germany ;
but even now all would be lost if Henry
did not receive the Holy Father's abso
lution, so, leaving his wife and child at
Reggio, he hurried on, accompanied by
his heroic old mother-in-law, to Canossa,
where Gregory was resting in the im
pregnable castle of his devoted partisan,
the countess Matilda. These two
famous women had so much power in
the affairs of Italy that the king's fate
was, to a considerable degree, in their
hands. Matilda, though devoted to
Gregory, pitied the humiliations and
sufferings to which the Emperor was
subjected, and it was she who at length
prevailed on her guest to put an end
to the cruel delays and abasement of his
unfortunate penitent, so that after days
of miserable entreaty, during which he
shivered outside the gate in the garb
of the humblest penitent, on Jan. 28,
1027, he was admitted to the Pope's
presence, and threw himself at his feet.
Gregory gave him absolution, but made
his own hard terms, to which Henry was
obliged to agree.

Adelaide's other son-in-law, Rudolph
of Snabia, who still had a large party
on his side, did not at once give up the
struggle for the crown. He won a battle
against Henry, but died of his wounds
the next day. Adelaide lived fourteen
years after the melancholy expedition
to Canossa. She was still alive when,
in 1084, Henry led an avenging army
to Rome, and compelled Gregory to take
flight to Salerno.

In her old age her conscience was
troubled, not apparently by the slaughter
of her rebellious subjects, but because
she had had three husbands. She tried
to atone for her sins by works of bene
ficence, and gave bountifully to reli
gious institutions. Fructuaria and other

monasteries throve under her patronage.
She died very old, Dec. 19, 1091, at
Canischio, where the remains of her
tomb are still to be seen. By her third
marriage she left five children — Peter,
to whom she bequeathed the marquisato
of Italy ; Amadeus, called by the Italians
Adelao; Odo, bishop of Asti; Bertha,
the empress ; and Adelaide, who married,
as his second wife, Rudolph of Suabia,
the rival Emperor. He was unkind to
his wife, and this circumstance was,
perhaps, not without weight in Ade
laide's ardent espousal of the fortunes
of Henry and Bertha.

Her life is promised by the Bollan-
dists when their calendar comes down
to her day. She appears in Ferrarius5
Catalogue of the Saints who are not in
the Roman Martyrology. She occupies
an important place in every history of
the house of Savoy. Frezct, Uistoire
de hi Maison de Savoie. Costa do Beau-
regard, Memoire Historique de la Maixon
royale de Savoie. Saiut-Genis, Savoie.
Paradin, Chroniquc de Savoie. Sismondi,
Hi»toire des Fran^ais, iii. 161. Stephen,
Hildebrand and his Times. Giesebrecht,
Dcutscldands Kaiserzcit, iii. Biographic
Universelle.

Yen. Adelaide (6) Dec. 15. llth
and perhaps the beginning of the
12th century. Countess of Mispilin-
gen. With her husband, Aewic, or
Alwic, count of Sultz, she built the con
vent of Alberspac, O.S.B., in Wittem-
berg, dedicated in honour of the Holy
Cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and
All Saints. In 1095, at her husband's
death, she became a nun. She is vene
rated in the monastery of Zwifalt, on
the Danube, three miles above Ulm.
This abbey, in 1482, was joined to the
congregation of Bursfeld. Gal. Christ.,
v., 1064, " La serie de douze abbes."
Migne, Die. Buceliiius, Men. Ben.

B. Adelaide (7), April 4, Sept. 1;
translation, May 3 (ALAYSIA, ALICE,
ALEYDIS, ELISABETH, etc.), c. 1105 or
1110. Mother of St. Bernard of Clair-
vaux. Called by Husenbeth "Saint.'*
Represented in a window on the north
side of Cossey Hall Chapel, standing
behind her son, St. Bernard. Daughter
of Bernard, lord of Mombard. Wife of

ST. ADKLAIDE

Tescelin Sorus (sometimes called 1*.
Tescelin >, lord of Fontaines, a member
of the ancient and powerful Burguncian
nobility. Tescelin and Adelaide lived
at the castle of Fontaines, near Dijon.
They were kind and good to their vassals
and the poor ; they maintained order and
propriety and religious observances in
their own house. Tescelin was dis
tinguished by his valour in war, but
from religious motives ho would never
fight a duel. Adelaide nursed her seven
children at her own breast, and tended
them with her own hands, lest they
should imbibe evil tempers or dis
tempers from the milk of hirelings, or
be taught anything unseemly by the
attendants of their infant days. Both
Tescelin and Adelaide were careful to
bring up all their children in the fear
of God and the love of their neighbours.
Their only daughter was ST. HUMBELINE.
Their sons were Guy, B. Gerard, St.
Bernard (Aug. 20), Andrew. Bartho
lomew, and Xivard. They all became
monks eventually. Adelaide offered
]'> niard more especially to God from
his infancy, and brought him up with
double care and tenderness until ho was
old enough to be sent to the college of
( 'hatillon, to be trained for the priest
hood. Her prayers for him were an
swered, even in her life ; for his piety,
charity, innocence, and self-denial were
wonderful in one so young. His greatest
fame arose from his preaching the
second Crusade, 1147, under Pope
Eugcnius III., who had been one of his
monks. Adelaide was considered a
saint during her life, on account of her
fasts, her hospital-visiting, and her other
good deeds. She had a great devotion
to St. Ambrose, and used to invite a
number of clergy from Dijon to celebrate
his festival. On the vigil of that day
(the Great St. Ambrose's day is Dec.
7 ; but perhaps this is St. Ambro-
sinian, ] nitron of Fontaines, near Di
jon, Sept. 1, as Adelaide seems to bo
honoured on that dayj, in the year
111", she was taken ill of a fever, and
next day she received the last sacra
ments, and while all her clerical com
pany commended her soul to (n>d, she
joined in the prayers and responses,

and died. St. Bernard was then I'.i
years old, and from that time he daily
recited seven psalms for her soul. She
was buried in the church of the mon
astery of St. Benignus, at Dijou ; but,
in 1250, the abbot of Clairvaux begged
to have her body as a precious relic ; it
was therefore solemnly taken up and
translated to Clairvaux, and the transla
tion is celebrated May 3. Mrs. Jameson,
Sacred and Legendary Art, and Legends
of the Monastic Orders. Henriquez,
Lffia Clstercii. Husenbeth, Emblems of
Saints.

B. Adelaide (8), of Lanckuvade, or
Lcnkwend, in Germany, Feb. 113, also
called Aleyd the Penitent, c. 1200. She
led a wicked life, and the devil tried to
stifle her repentance and prevent her
conversion by horrible apparitions. She
became, however, a holy penitent and
nun in the Cistercian convent of Lenk-
wend. Bucelinus, Men. Ben. Henriquez,
Lilia Ci*t.

B. Adelaide (9), Aug. 29, 1211.
Daughter of Casimir IT., king of Poland.
Cistercian nun at Trebnitz, in the mon
astery built by ST. HEDWIG. Adelaide
is probably the nun Aleydis Virgo, to
whom St. Hedwig told her prescience,
or second sight, of the death of her son.
Heuriquez, Lilia Cist. No authority for
her worship. AA.SS.

St. Adelaide (10), June 11, 15
(ALETH, ALIX, ALIZETTE, ALIZON, etc.),
1250. At the ago of 11, Adelaide of
Scarbek, or Scharembeka, went into
the Cistercian convent of La Cainbro
(Camera S. Maria)), near Brussels. She
wus soon the best scholar among the
children, and continued to bo distin
guished more and more, for all good
qualities, for several years. One day,
when they were all singing in the choir,
the candle fell out of its stand, which
was a sort of lantern, called abseonsa, in
use in convents. Adelaide took it in her
hand, and it lighted again of itself. In
on lor that she might have no regard for
anything earthly, God afilictod her with
leprosy; and in consequence, she was
separated from all her sister nuns, which
was a great trial. A little building was
erected for her. She was received there
by her heavenly Spouse, who promised

B. ADELAIDE

to remain witli her as long as she lived.
One night a pious woman saw Adelaide's
dwelling brilliantly lighted up, and going
nearer, saw the saint as if she were
made of flame. Once when she was very
ill, it was revealed to her that she should
live a whole year longer and suffer much,
and that her torments should avail for
the living and for the dead ; therefore,
when she lost her right eye, she offered
that for the salvation of William, count
of Holland, who had just been elected
king of the Komans, 1247 ; and when
she lost her left eye, she assigned the
fruit of that penance to St. Louis, king of
France (IX. of his name), who was then
in Palestine with the crusading army.
Although herself a leper, she had the
privilege of curing other lepers by her
touch. A golden cross was sent to her
from heaven. On St. Ursula's day, she
heard the nunssinging Matins,and prayed
that, although excluded from the choir
on earth, she might be associated with
the sainted virgins in heaven ; she was
answered that she should be placed not
only with the companions of ST. URSULA,
but in a higher rank. She died 1250,
and her spirit wras seen to be received
by Christ and the angels. Henschenius,
in AA.SS. Boll., from a Cistercian writer
of the 13th century, June 11. Buce-
linus, MCJT. Ben., June 11. A.R. M. Ci*t.,
June 15.

B. Adelaide (11), or ALIX, Aug. 2,
countess of Blois. 1243-1288. Daughter
of John I., duke of Brittany. Married,
1254, to John de Chatillon, first count
of Blois. She went to the Holy Land
in 1287, and died on her return, Aug.
2, 1288. Her body was placed near that
of her husband, in the abbey of la Guiche
(which she had founded), near Blois.
Collin de Plancy, Saintcs ct licnhciuruses.

St. Adelberga, ETHELBURGA, queen
of Northumberland.

B. Adelina (1), ADELIND.

St. Adelina (2), Oct. 20. c. li;>2.
V. Abbess. Granddaughter of William
tho Conqueror. Sister of St. Yitalis,
abbot and founder of the famous Cister
cian monastery of Savigny, in Anjou.
He built a house near his own, for
Adelina and a community of nuns ; but
after a few years he transferred them to

Mortain, in La Manche, in Normandy,
founded by their brother William, count
of Mortain. Adelina's nunnery was
popularly called L<s Blandics, the White
Ladies of Mortain. She died about the
middle of the 12th century, and was
buried at Mortain ; and about 100 years
afterwards, was translated to Savigny,
and laid beside her brother Yitalis and
another brother, Godfrey, also abbot of
Savigny. The church of Little Sod-
bury, in Gloucestershire, is dedicated in
her name. Boll., AA.8S. Migne, Die.
aes allay es. Miss Arnold Forster, Dedi
cations.

B. Adelind, Aug. 28 (ADELINA (1),
ADELINE). 8th and perhaps part of
i'th century. Founder and first abbess
of Buchau, or Buchen, in Suabia. Born
in the castle of Andechs. Represented
distributing loaves to the poor. Sister
of St. Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne.
Married Hatto or Otho, count of Kessel-
burg, who was killed, with their three
sons, in a great battle against the Huns,
at a place called afterwards the Valley
of Tears. They had another son, a
deacon, who died of grief soon after the
'death of his father and brothers. After
the Huns were driven out of Germany
by Charlemagne, Adelind founded a
monastery in memory of her husband
and sons ; buried them within its pre
cincts ; took the veil, and became first
abbess there. She died Aug. 28, and
is honoured on this day or Aug 2 1 .
Perier, the Bollandist, in AA.SS. Petin,
Die. Hag. Moustier. Guenebault, Die.
d'Icon.

St. Adeliza, ADA, ADKLA.

St. Adeloga, HADELOGA.

St. Adeltrude (1), Feb. 24, 25
(ALDETUUDE, MADELTRUDE), V. 7th
century. Abbess. Daughter of B.
Vincent and ST. WALTRUDE, and grand
daughter of SS. Walbert and BEUTILLA
(1). Represented with rats and mice;
but this is supposed, by Cahier, to bo
a mistake for ST. GERTRUDE. While
Adeltrude was a young girl, her aunt,
ST. ALDEGUNDIS, like a careful house
wife, ordered all the scraps of wax to
be gathered together and melted into-
one mass in a pot. It was allowed to-
get too hot, ran over the edge into the

ST. ADFALDU1)

15

fire, and 1 dazed up. Adcltrudo rushed
to the fire, and took oft" the pot, which
she placed safely on the ground without
burning her hands or arms in the least —
a miracle which was attributed to her
great devotion to the Virgin Mary. In
660 she succeeded St. Aldcgundis as
abbess of the convent of Maubeugc.
Boll., AA.SS., Feb. 25. Martin, Feb.
25.

St. Adeltrude (2), March 19 (ADEL-
TIIUDIS, AxoLKTurDE), V. 7th century.
Daughter of Allowin, afterwards St.
Bavo, patron of Ghent. Niece of ST.
ADILIA. Adeltrude showed very early
signs of piety. An angel foretold that
she should never have any children, but
should bring forth many good works.
Her father was a worldly and dissipated
man, until he was converted by the
preaching of St. Amandus. He then
betook himself to a life of solitude and
penance, and eventually gave his estate
to Amandus, to found a monastery and
church, which, in 1559, became the
cathedral of St. Bavon, of Ghent. Bavo
died about 657. Boll., AA.SS., Mar. 19,
"Lives of St. Bavo and St. Landoald."
Butler, Lives. Baillet, Vies. Wion,
Lignum Vitse. Le Glay, Gaule Belgique.
St. Adeltrude (:);, Nov. 14. yth
century. Wife of a count of Aurillac,
who built a church and abbey there,
under the invocation of St. Clement and
rule of St. Benedict. In 855 they had
a son, Gerald, whom they brought up so
piously that ho became a great saint.
Adeltrude was buried in St. Clement's
Church, where her miracles drew a great
concourse of pilgrims, until the IGth
century, when the Calvinists dispersed
her relics. P.B. Butler, " St. Gerald,"
Oct. i;;.

St. Adelviva, Jan. 25 (ADELWII-T,
ADUX.U.IF, ADI-\.\I.I\ A.lvrui'LViVE). !<>!<.
Mother of St. 1'oppo, abbot. She mar
ried Tizekin, a valiant warrior of Flan
ders. Her son was a seven-months'
child, and such a poor little Hpe.-imrn
of humanity that he would have died M
soon as ho was born had not hi-; pious
grandmother, by direction of God, or
at least of the common sense with which
Ho had endowed her, wrapped him in a
very soft woollen cloth, and taken great

care of him until ho had attained tho
size and strength of other babies. To
wards tho end of tho loth century,
Tizekin was killed at Hasbain, in Bra
bant, in a war between Arnulf, count of
Flanders, and tho sons of Ragner, or
Keguior, tho Long-necked, count of
Mons and Valenciennes. Adelviva was
left a young widow. Poppo, like other
lads of his rank, went to the wars as
soon as ho was old enough. Ho had
not long been a soldier when he joined
some monks in a pilgrimage to Jeru
salem. After his return, he persuaded
his mother to take tho veil. According
to Mcuard, she lived for some time in a
nunnery at Verdun ; and afterwards in
a cull adjoining the monastery of St.
Vitus, in tho same town, for it was an
ancient custom, long continued in the
Order of St. Benedict, that, attached to
a monastery of men, were a few cells,
called dusaSj or inclusoria, in which one
or more nuns might live. They were
under tho rule of the abbot, and none
but ho had access t j them. Her miracles
began before she had retired from secu
lar life. She relighted an extinguished
candle by merely taking it in her hand
while she was at her prayers. While
she prayed at tho tomb of St. Cyricus>
he and St. Amandus of Utrecht and
many other saints appeared to her.
1'oppo became abbot of Stavelo, a
monastery founded by St. Eemacle, in
the 7th century. A contemporary Life
of St. Poppo, by Everhelm, abbot of
Haumont, is preserved by Mabillou,
AA.SS.9 O.S.B. T£fau*jtm*de France.
Ituiuart, Ada. Saussaye, Mart. Gnlll-
fnnnni, calls Adelviva "Saint." Buce-
liinis and Meiiard say " Blessed."
St. Adeneta, ADA OF LK 31 LHB,
St. Adeodata, July 5. Tamayo,
say the I.olhmdists, is a wonderful
digger up of saints, and appears to
consider that St. Gregory tho Great has.
canonized every person whose name he
mentions in his writings. Tamayo calls
Adeodata a Benedictine nun, and says
slie WHS adorned with supernatural gifts,
and died in Etruria. Boll., AA.SS.
St. Adfalduid or ATAI.I>UII>, Sept.

V. .Daughter of St. Itomarif, I1
8. . A holy nun with her sister, > i .

16

ST. ADILIA

GEGOBERGA, tinder ST. MACTAFLEDE.
The BollandisU mention her among the
prsetermissi, Sept. o<>. There seems to bo
a doubt about this daughter of Komaric ;
she is not named in the oldest accounts
of his family. Saussaye calls her
" Blessed." Mart. Gallicanum.

St. Adilia or ODILIA (2), June 30,
Oct. 1, V. Abbess. O.S.I*. 7th cen
tury. Daughter of the count of Hainault.
Sister of St. Bavo. Aunt of ADEL-
TRUDE (2). Abbess of St. Martin du
Mont, a large Benedictine house at Orp,
in Namur. Her convent was on a hill,
and many pilgrims passed by the bottom
of it without coming up. As hospitality
was part of the rule of her Order, she
built a church and hospice for beggars
and travellers at the foot of the hill,
and removed her community thither,
that she might relieve their wants and
be edified by the conversation of holy
persons who were on pilgrimage. Migne's
Dictionary says, honoured at Orp-le-
Grand, near Judoque, in Brabant. Pape-
broch. AA.SS. Boll. Bucelinus, Men.
Ben. Martin, Surius, and French Mart.
Molanus, Indiculo. 88. Beljii, places
Adilia in the time of Childeric. Chil-
deric II. reigned during part of 670,
and was the son of ST. BATHILDIS.

St. Adisela, Nov. 18, M., appears
in the Lalbean Mart. Boll., AA.SS.
Supplement, iii.

St. Adjola or AJOLA, June 1, abbess
at Bourges in the 7th century. AA.SS.
Boll.

St. Adla, ABDELA.
St. Adnetta, ADA OF LE MANS.
St. Adolena, ADELA OF PFALZEL.
St. Adonette, ADA OF LE MANS.
Gahicr, Cfirarteristiqucs.

St. Adozina, Aug. 5, V. O.S.B.
] i >th century. Daughter of the count
of Agueda, in Portugal. She imitated
the heroic virtues of her brother, St.
Rozendo, and followed him to the
monastery of Cella Nova, in Galicia,
where they took the habit of the Brothers
of the Order of St. Benedict, and kept
their rule. She died in the convent of
Oporto. Azevedo, Pantheon.

St. Adrechild, ADA OF LE MANS.
St. Adrehild, ADA OF LK MANS.
St. Adriana (1), Sept. 17, M. in the

time of the Emperor Adrian. AA.SS.
Appendix.

B. Adriana (2), or UADUIANA, Aug.
10, 27, July 16, O.8.F. tJ2U2. Sister
of ST. MAUGAIIET of Cortona, converted
by the example of her penitence, and
like her, took the habit of the Third
Order of St. Francis, as did their friend
Pi. GILIA or EGIDIA of Cortona, and,
both became companions of Margaret,
in her works meet for repentance, un<l
died before her. All three are buried
in the church of the Friars Minors, in
Cortona (Jacobilli, SS. dcW Umbrin I.
S. F. Ordenskalcndar says Adriana died
immediately after winning the indul
gence of Portiuncula at Assisi, and went
straight into heaven, without passing
through the fires of purgatory. A note
in the same calendar, Aug. 2, the Feast
of Portiuncula, says that plenary in
dulgence is to be had once for one's self,
and afterwards for the poor souls in
purgatory, as often as, after Absolution
and Holy Communion, one visits a church
of the Franciscan brothers, and prays,
"nach der Mcinumj der katholischen
Kir die."

St. Adumade, HADUMADA.
St. Adunalif, ADELMYA.
St. -/Egina, May 18 (AcxA, EGENA),
M. at Constantinople. AA.SS. Boll.

St. -£imiliana. There are two of
this name in the R.M. See EMILIANA.

St. -^Erais or HERAIS, March 4. Put
to the sword, with 15o other martyrs
mentioned in a MS. Mcnca at Grotta
Ferrata, and in some other Greek
calendars. AA.SS.

St. Aesia, June G (AYKSIA, EUSEBIA),
M. 1st century. Matron. Commemo
rated with ST. ZEXAIS, or Si >\\. Dis
ciple of St. Pancras, bishop of Tauro-
meiiium (now Taonnina), in Sicily.
AA.88.

St. Affidia, or AITII.IA, May^G, M.
at Milan, under Maximian. AA.88.

St. Affrenia, or AFI:A, Oct. i), M.
P.13.

St. Affrica, abbess of Kildare, 7:;s.
Colgan.

St. Afra (1), May 24, M. at Brescia,
c. 133. Patron of Brescia. Wife of the
prefect of Brescia, under the Emperor
Hadrian. This Emperor is represented

ST. AM; A

17

in the legend as a determined persecutor
of the Christians. When ho visited
Brescia, part of the entertainment pro
vided for him was that two Christian
brothers, SS. Fanstus and Jovita, were
placed in the arena, to be devoured by
lions and leopards ; the beasts, however,
lay down at tho feet of the saiuts, and
defended them from the bears that
attacked them. Tho confessors chal
lenged the Emperor to order tho lord of
the town and his pagan priests to bring
their idol Suturnus into the arena, say
ing that if he would deliver them, they
would worship the Deity. The idol was
brought ; tho bears instantly broke it in
pieces, then threw themselves on the
priests and the governor, and toro them
limb from limb. As soon as Afra heard
her husband's fate, she rushed to tho
amphitheatre and assailed the Emperor
with cries and reproaches. She said he
had made her a widow, and his god was
powerless to help her. She threw her
self at the feet of the servants of Christ,
and begged them to give her a sign
whereby she might believe in tho one
true God. The Emperor tried in vain to
comfort her. He promised her a nobler
husband, but she said, " I do not weep
for my widowhood, but because my hus
band has lost his soul." To put a stop
to her abuse of his gods, Hadrian broke
up the assembly. Tho two martyrs
commanded the wild beasts to conduct
Afra safely into the desert, which they
did, followed by the bulls which had
been turned into the arena to fight with
them. Fanstus and Jovita were led in
bonds to Milan. There they were given
for a prey to tigers and bears. These
they ordered to go and join tho lions and
leopards in the deserts, and guard St.
Afra until they should be sent for. Tho
beasts obeyed them. Tho martyrs
Faustus and Jovita were dragged hither
and thither, and at last came to Rome,
Y.-IMTO they were again pitted against
wild beasts to make sport for tho people.
The savage creatures humbled them-
s«-lves at the feet of the saints. Tho
gates flow open, and the beasts that had
been despatched from Jlrescia and Milan
appeared, bringing Afra with them.
She lifted up her voice, and warned tho

people to believe in tho one true God
and to repent of their sins. Faustus and
Jovita reminded the Emperor of the cir
cumstances under which he had first seen
Afra, and ho said she must bo a sor
ceress. The people began to cry out
that the God of Faustus and Jovita must
be the true God. The two confessors
commanded the beasts which had brought
Afra to slay those which they found in
the Roman amphitheatre. They did so
in a moment, and then harmlessly de
parted. Faustus and Jovita next led
Afra to tho catacombs, to bo baptized
by tho bishop. (The legend calls him
Linus, but Linus was not bishop of
Rome at this date.) They then all went
to Milan, and thence to Brescia, where
the people came out to meet them, and
brought them into the city with hymns
of joy. They and many of their fellow-
Christians wore soon condemned to
death. The soldiers led them out on
the road to Cremona, where they all
knelt down. Tho men were beheaded
by gladiators, arid Afra was smitten on
the head by tho guards with their swords,
and so completed her happy martyrdom.
B.M. May :>4. The Bollandists give her
Acts, which are manifestly fabulous, on
May 2o. Her church, on the site of a
temple of Saturn, is the oldest ecclesi
astical foundation in Brescia. It was
entirely rebuilt in the 17th century, and
is now, of course, very ugly. Hare,
Cities of Italy.

St. Afra (2), Aug. 10, M. Honoured
with 11 men, 13 virgins, and seven,
soldiers. AA.SS.

St. Afra (3), Dec. 18, V. M. Mart.

St. Afra (4) of Augsburg, Aug. 5
AuKA, APKA, etc.), M. 307. Patron of
Augsburg, Meissen, and female peni
tents. Represented with her hands tied
to a stake (Liber Cronicarum) ; bound to
a tree in flames (Ikonograpltie) ; sur
rounded with flames (Die Attrilnifc der
Jldliiji //) ; 1 toiled in a cauldron (Husen-
beth, Kmblfitix) ; holding a log or faggot,
to denote that she was bnrncd alive
(Guenebault, Die. Icon.).

St. Narcissus, a Spanish Christian
priest, and his deacon, Felix, being
driven from their own country in the

c

IS

ST. AFRA

persecution under Diocletian, happened
to come to Augsburg, and asked for
hospitality at the house of Afra, not
knowing that she was a courtesan. She
and her three maids prepared supper for
them, supposing them to be the sort of
guests they were accustomed to enter
tain. Narcissus said a prayer and sang
a psalm before beginning to eat. Afra
asked what he meant by it, and hearing
that her visitors were Christians, she
said, " You have made a mistake in
coming here, for we are sinners." Nar
cissus told her Christ came to save sin
ners, and exhorted her at once to break
with her wicked life, and repent and
Income a Christian. The four women
were converted by his persuasion, and
when the persecutors came to look for
the two Christians, she hid them under
heaps of flax, first in her own and then
in her mother's house, until she could
send them away in disguise. Her
mother's name was HILARIA ; she was
already a Christian, and had tried in
vain to convert Afra. Very soon Afra
was accused of being a Christian, and of
having aided the escape of persons re
sisting the laws. She was brought
before a judge, who said, " How is it
that a courtesan can be a Christian ?
Where is the purity of life which the
followers of Christ profess ? " She
answered, " I am indeed unworthy of the
name of Christian, but Christ came to
save sinners. He will accept my mar
tyrdom, and wash me from my sins."
She was condemned to be burned on an
island in the river Lech. Her maids
stood on the bank and watched her mar
tyrdom. A boy went and told Hilaria
that her daughter had been burnt to
death, not accepting deliverance. A few
days afterwards Ililaria and the three
maids were taken and put to death, and
are honoured as saints and martyrs.
The names of the maids were DKJNA,
I -li \OMIA, and EUTROPIA. The skeleton
of Afra is shown at Augsburg, in the
church dedicated in her name and that
of St. Ulrich ; the bones appear through
the most exquisite lace, and the skull
and fingers are resplendent with jewels.
EM. Baillet, Vies. Butler, Lives.
Dr. J. M. Neale. Mrs. Jameson, tincred

<m<l Li'fjrndimj Art. One of the Saints
VALERIA is said to be identical with St.
Afra of Augsburg.

St. Afra (5) of Poitiers, Dec. 13
(ABRA, APIA, APRA), V. 4th century.
Daughter of St. Hilary, bishop of
Poitiers. Ho was of an illustrious family
in Gaul; was converted about 350, and
became bishop about 353. On account
of his opposition to Arianism, he was
banished by the Emperor Constantius to
Phrygia, 35G, and remained in exile
three years. He left his wife at Poitiers
with their only child, a girl of 13
or thereabouts. From the time of his
conversion, the bishop had wished and
prayed that his daughter should never
be a worldly woman, but live and die a
virgin consecrated to Christ ; so when,
during his banishment, his wife wrote to
him on the subject of a marriage that
seemed to promise well for her happi
ness, he wrote to Afra, giving her leave
to decide the matter for herself. The
man whom her mother was inclined to
accept for her was young, beautiful, of
good character, very rich, and in every
way a fit mate for a Christian maiden of
good family ; but Hilary told her that if
she would refuse him she might have a
Husband more noble, more beautiful,
more powerful, kinder, richer ; if she
would renounce all jewels and gay
clothes, her Bridegroom would give her
robes of dazzling whiteness, and jewels
of unimaginable splendour ; a life above
all petty vexations and ambitious ; trea
sures that rust and moth could not in
jure ; possessions that death itself could
not take away. Afra followed her
father's advice, and on his return ho
prayed that the Lord would take her to
Himself. She died happily about 360,
without pain or disease. Her mother
then entreated Hilary to obtain of God
the same favour for her. In the words
of the Golden Legend, " He sent toforo
his wyf and doughter." Hilary did
about 308. His letter to Afra is still
extant, and so is one of two hymns which
he wrote and sent her at the same
time. It begins, " Lucis Lnrgitor s^lii-
dide." Tillemont. P>utlcr. AA.SS.

St. Agaieta or GAIANA, Sept. 3' >. See
RlPSIMA.

SS. AGAPE, CHIOXIA, AND IRKNK

19

Agapa, ACAIM:, AOAIM-S, and AUAI-IA
eeein to bo forms of the same name,
generally called AGAI-I:.

St. A.2:apa, Nov. u< >, V., is mentioned
in the Jl/ar////v.A <>//"//< Bichfnoviente^ i.> .
the copy of the Mart, of St. Jerome used
in the old German monastery of
Reichenau. AA.8S.

SS. Agape < 1 >, Pistis, and Elpis,
Sept. 17, VV. MM. FAITH, HOIT:, and
CHAUITY i //./•. > are so called in the
]5yzantinc Church. Xeale, Ifolij Eastern
Church.

St. Agape ( 2 i, Feb. 15, V. M. 27&
Patron of Terano. A disciple of St.
Valentine, bishop of Interamna. There
are several places called Interamna ;
this IB probably Terauo. She and her
companions led a religions life there,
and were put to death soon after their
master. The inhabitants hold the
festival of their patrons, of whom
A'alentinc is chief, on four days, Feb. 1 4,
K 17. EM. AA.SS. Jacobilli
says St. Agapo's house was not at
Terano, but at a place called Fra le
Torri. outside the town of Terni ; that
the house was built in 255 by St. Valen
tine ; that with Agape were her sister,
ST. THIOMA or TEOXIA, and 33 nuns,
the chief of whom were SS. CHIOXIA,
CASTTLA, and STNCA. . Santi dclV Umbria,
Hi. 1M5. ) ST. DOMMNA i 1) seems to bo
one of those honoured with them, but
Jacobilli places her martyrdom three
centuries later, in the time of Totila.

SS. Agape (3) and Chionia, April

•I Irene, April 5. c.304. Famous

martyrs in the tenth persecution, which

red in the time of Diocletian.

Their names are in tlio li<nnan Martyro-

/«;/./ as martyrs sit Thessalonica. The

down to us in different

forms. I give one from the .FA*

.' : a second from the Aftn

N///r/, ,/•//„/. when- Hcnschenius derives

it from ;ui ancient /,//»• of St. Anastn.-

and a third from P>aillet ( April 1 ), win.

considers their authentic Acts, published

by Kuinart, more reliable than the

Authority followed by I lenschcnius.

Vega, in the FA/x Sanctonm^ says that
•>S. Agape, Chionin, and Irene or Yrnea
were the maids of ST. A \\-i\-i\, and
shared her imprisonment. Instead of

putting them immediately to death — as
recorded in the story of St. Anastasia —
the governor thought them too beautiful
for such a fate, and determined to save
them as slaves for himself. As they
despised his clemency and admiration,
ho shut them up in a kitchen. When
he went to visit them, they became
invisible. The pots and pans took their
forms, so that the three saints remained
unmolested while the deluded governor
embraced and kissed the unresisting
kitchen utensils till his face and clothes
were black and dirty. When he came
out his servants took him for a devil,
struck him with their fists and sticks,
and then ran away from him. lie went
to the Emperor to complain of their
conduct, but every one thought he was
mad, and began to beat him, spit at him,
and throw sticks and stones at him.
The devil had so completely deceived
him that he could not see his own
disfigurement, nor understand the reason
of all this ill treatment. He thought he
and his clothes were white and clean,
and as everybody told him the contrary
he supposed himself bewitched by the
three girls. He next ordered their
clothes to be taken off. This was found
impossible ; the more the servants
pulled, the tighter the saints' garments
stuck to them. At last the governor,
exhausted and puzzled, fell asleep, and
slept so long and so soundly, and snored
so loudly that no one could awake him,
and if the devil hasn't taken him he is
snoring there still. The three Christian
maidens were put to death.

The second version of the story is as
follows : —

When St. Chrysogonus was sent to
Aquileia by Diocletian, St. Anasta
his disciple and friend, followed him to
visit the imprisoned Christians and bury
tin- martyrs there as she had dono at
Home. Chrysogonus was beheaded at
A.pia Gradata (Grao, in Friuli), and his
I fuly thrown into the sea. It was soon
washed ashore at a place called Adsaltns.
a small estate where throo sisters,
Christian*, named Ajrapc, ( 'liionia, and
Irene, lived with an aged priest named
Xoilus. They took up the body of the;
martyr, and buried it with great care

20

SS.

, CHIONIA, AND IRENE

and reverence in a subterranean chamber
of the house. St. Chrysogonus after
wards appeared in a dream to Zoilus,
and told him that Diocletian would order
the three sisters to be seized in nine
days, that God would cause them to bo
comforted by His servant Anastasia, but
that Zoilus himself should not live to
see their imprisonment. While he was
telling his dream to the sisters, Anas
tasia entered the house, saying, " Where
are my three sisters whom my master
Chrysogonus recommended to my care ? "
They received her gladly, showed her
the place where Chrysogonus was buried,
and begged her to stay some time with
them. She stayed one night, and then
returned to Aquileia to attend to the
wants of the Christians who were in
prison. As she left the house St.
Zoilus went to the Lord. Diocletian
soon sent for the three sisters, and asked
them who had taught them their vain
superstitions. He offered them husbands
out of his own palace as the reward of
their renunciation of Christianity. As
they were steadfast in the faith, he sent
them to prison, where they were visited
by Anastasia. There was great poverty
among the Christians in those days.
They all used to come to Anastasia for
help. She daily prayed that she might
not die until she had expended on them
the last farthing of the sum she had
obtained by the sale of her patrimony.
Diocletian took the Christian prisoners
to Macedonia. On his arrival there he
ordered Dulcicius, the governor, to try
them all, and torture and slay those who
persisted in their religion, but to offer
honours and other rewards to such as
consented to sacrifice to the gods. When
the three sisters were brought before
him in their turn, he was struck by their
beauty.

Here follows almost exactly the kitchen
scene given in the Spanish Flos
^onctorum, except that in this version of
the story Dulcicius falls asleep on the
judgment-seat, and awakes when carried
into his own house. Sisinnus is then
appointed to continue the trial. Ho
condemns Agape and Chionia 1o bo burnt.
They die praying in the midst of the
flames, but their bodies and even their

clothes are uninjured by the fire. Irene,
who was younger, was condemned to a
more cruel fate. As she was being led
away by guards to the place of her doom,
two soldiers appeared, and said, " The
governor sends us after you to order you
to take Irene to the place that wo will
show you." They proceeded to the top
of a mountain and sat down. The t\vo
soldiers told the guards to go and tell
Sisinnus that Irene was there, according
to his orders. When Sisinnus saw that
he was the subject of a trick, he was very
angry, and rode off in haste to the
mountain, where he saw the beautiful
Irene praying and singing hymns. He
rode round and round from morning until
evening without ever being able to get
near her. At last he was so enraged
that he took a bow from one of his
attendants and shot her with three
arrows. She died rejoicing that she was
accounted worthy to rejoin her sisters so
soon. Her body was taken by the
servants of St. Anastasia and buried with
those of Agape and Chionia.

The third form of the legend says
that SS. Agape, Chionia, and Irene were
martyred at Thessalonica, in Macedonia,
with their companions, CASIA, PHILIPPA,
and EUTYCHIA, and a man named Agatho.
The three sisters lived in their father's
house at Thessalonica. They are called
virgins in some calendars ; but it is more
probable, from their answers during the
trial, that they were all married. When
Diocletian ordered the destruction of a]l
the sacred books of the Christians, they
found a safe hiding-place for their own
and some others that belonged to the
community. They fled to a mountain,
where they remained hidden from their
persecutors for a year. When they were
brought to trial, they were careful not
to betray those who had fed or otherwise
assisted them in their trouble. They
declared that their father did not know
where they were during that time, and
that the books were hidden from their
most intimate friends ; " even," said
Irene, " from our husbands." Agape
and Chionia were burnt to death. Eut v-
chia, who was a widow, was remanded to
prison until after the birth of her child,
which was imminent. Dulcicius, the

ST. AGATHA

21

governor, tried to persuade Irone, who
was much younger than her sisters, to
nice their superstitious. lie was
-'•i -riitcd ut her firmness. Seeing that
she wished to share the martyrdom of
her <i>ti-rs, and did not fear the flames,
he condemned her to degradation, and
ordered her to bo kept in a place where
every one should have power to insult
her. She was to bo guarded by one
7. -imus, who was to bring her a loaf
from the governor's palace every day.
Zosimus and all his servants were to bo
put to death if Irene stirred from tlio
phii-e. She was, however, miraculously
defended from all harm, and after a feu-
days Dulcicius had her burnt in tho
place where her sisters had glorified
in the same manner a few days
before.

Tho subsequent fate of their com
panions is not told, but the Church
honours them among the martyrs.

SS. Agape (4), Domna ( 1 '), and
Theophila (2), Dec. 28. E.M. See
DOMNA.

Besides the above, seven saints of tho
name of Agape are commemorated as
martyrs in the early persecutions.

St. Agapia, May ;U,M. at Gerona,
in Spain. AA.SS.

St. Agapia sometimes means AGAPE.

St. Agatha ( 1 ), Feb. 5, V. M. 251.
Called in Norway AAGOT ; in Spain
AOUEDA and GADEA ; in different parts
of France, APT, APIITE, APTHE, CIIAPHTE,
CHAPTHE, CHATTE, YK; in tho Iluthe-
nean Calendar, AGATA.

She is one of tho great patronesses of
the Western Church ; her name is iu the
canon of the Mass. She is patron saint
of the island and Order of Malta ; of
Scala near Amain, Gallipoli in Italy,
Capua, Messina, Catania, Mirandola ;
and of nurses. Her aid is specially in
voked against fire, colic, and diseases of
tho 1.:

ii'-pivs'-nled in the midst of flames, or
with her breasts being cut off. Ilusen-
beth says there is a picture of her in the
Pitti Palace at Florence, by Sebastian
del Piombo, iu which executioners aro
cutting off her breasts, and that a repre
sentation of her was formerly to be seen
on tho rood screen of St. John's Church

in tho Maddermarket at Norwich, hold
ing her left breast in pincers.

Palermo disputes with Catania tho
honour of being her birthplace. She
was living at Catania when Quintianus,
governor of Sicily, persecuted the Chris
tians in the reign of the PJmperor Decius,
in the seventh general persecution of the
Church. He wished to take St. Agatha
for himself, on account of her great
beauty ; but being unable to make any
impression on her, ho gave her in charge
to Froudisia, a wicked woman with nine
daughters worse than herself, promising
them great rewards if they could seduce
Agatha from Christianity and virtue.
As they failed to do so, she was brought
before the governor and tried as a Chris
tian. Being asked who she was, she
answered, "I am a Christian, and the
servant of Jesus Christ." " Abjure thy
Master," said Quintianus, " and servo
our gods, or I will have theo tortured."
She was then bound to a pillar, and her
breast torn with iron shears ; she was
rolled on potsherds, and after various
other tortures, she was cast into a dun
geon. St. Peter, attended by an angel
carrying a torch, appeared to her and
healed her wounds with ointment. Quin-
tiauus, finding that she was healed of
tho wounds inflicted by tho torturers,
ordered her to be burnt alive ; bnt no
sooner was she placed in the fire than an
earthquake shook the city. Tho people,
believing it to bo on account of the
Christian maiden, insisted on her imme
diate release from the flames, and threat
ened to burn down the governor's palace
if he did not comply with their demand.
She was again put in prison, but prayed
that she might die at once, which she
did, and was buried by tho Christians in
a porphyry tomb. About a year after
wards the city was threatened with de
struction by an eruption of Mount Etna.
All the inhabitants fled for refuge to St.
Agatha's tomb. They took her veil,
which was kept there, fixed it on a lance,
and went in procession to meet tho
torrent of lava. The glowing mass was
coming close to tho walls, but when con
fronted with tho sacred relic it turned
aside. All tho heathen who witnessed
this miracle were converted and baptized.

22

• ST. AGATHA

Solomon's Song viii. 8 is supposed by
some theologians to foretell the tortures
of St. Agatha.

Her name is in the Roman Nartyro-
logy, the Canon of the Mass, the Leg-
gendario dclle Santa Vergini, and all the
chief collections of lives or legends of
saints. Her Acts are said by Baillet to
be of doubtful authenticity, especially
those preserved in the Greek Church.
Her worship is undoubtedly very old.
It was universal in Italy in the 4th
century, and in Africa in the 5th. Her
commemoration by the Church has this
peculiarity, which it shares with that of
ST. AGNES, that the psalms of her office
are taken from the " Common of Saints "
of the male sex, to remind the faithful
of the super-feminine courage of the
holy maiden. He adds that the schis
matic English, though they have ex
punged her name from their new liturgy,
have retained it in their calendars, that
the people may not forget the virtues of
the early martyrs. E.M. Golden
Legend. Villegas, from Bede, Usuard,
and Metaphrastes. Mrs. Jameson, Sacred
and Legendary Art. AA.SS. Thiers,
Traite dcs superstitions.

In Norway, the legend is that she was
brushed to death, wherefore girls abstain
from brushing their hair on her day.
Another legend in that country is that a
lady named Agathe, or Aagot, had her
nose and ears eaten off by mice. They
only spared the rest of her body on her
vowing to keep St. Agatha's day holy
ever after. This story is told also of
ST. GERTRUDE of Nivelle. The day is
marked on the clogs (runic calendars)
by a mouse. Aagot' s Mcsxa was the
Norwegian name of the day. Report
xx. of the Cambridge Antiquarian
Society, " Description of a Norwegian
Calendar of tlie Fifteenth Century:'

St. Agatha ( 2 ), May 8. One of the
many martyrs at Byzantium, commemo
rated with St. Acacius, a native of Cap-
padocia and a Roman centurion. Their
names are not mentioned in his Acts,
given by Henschenius from a Greek
manuscript at Grotta Fcrrata, but the
martyrs commemorated with him in the
old martyrologies are supposed to be his
fellow - prisoners and converts; about

28 of them were women. Henschenius,
AA.SS., gives the date 20;j ; but if St.
Acacius was put to death, as his Acts
say, under Maximianus, it must have
been a century later.

St. Agatha (3), April 3, M. in Misia.
Mart. lUiinovicnse.

St. Agatha (4), Dec. 12. Sth cen
tury. Nun at Weinbrunn, in Germany.
Disciple of ST. LIOBA. Bucelinus, Men.
Ben. AA.SS. prsefer, June 12, 28, Sept,
28, Dec. 12. Ferrarius, Cat. Gen.,
makes her a nun at Wimborne, which is,
perhaps, a mistake ; but she may have
gone from Wimborne with Lioba, and
lived with her in Germany. Wion,
Lignum Vitoe, says Wimbrun in Germany.

St. Agatha (5) Hildegard, Feb.
5. •(• 1024. Sometimes called by either
name alone. Patron of Carinthia. Wife
of Paul, count palatine of Carinthia.
They lived either at Stein or at Rech-
berg, a castle on a rock rising abruptly
to a considerable height above the river
Drave. Paul, having rashly listened to a
false accusation against his wife, rushed
furiously to her room at the top of the
castle, where she was saying her prayers
with Dorothy her maid, and threw them
both out of the window. Instead of
being killed, they arrived unhurt on the
opposite side of the river, at the village-
of Mochlingen. Paul, struck by the
miracle and horrified at his own violence,
built the church of St. Paul of Moch
lingen on the spot. As soon as he had
heard Mass there, he set out on a seven
years' pilgrimage, as a penance for his
injustice and violence. On his return,
he sat down to rest under a tree, and
there he heard the bells of his church
ring for midday prayer. Then he died.
Agatha survived him for a few years,
and made some charitable religious foun
dations.

The messengers of the Bollandists
heard this story from the curates and
peasants of Carinthia, but never found
it in books. Some of the narrators also
added that the woman who had accused
the countess was turned iuto stone, with
the cow she was milking, and that her
stool and her pail of milk might bo
seen there still. The messengers, how
ever, not only never saw the stones

ST. AGATHOCUA

themselves, but never found any man
who could assert that he had seen them.
Bollandus, AA.8S.

St. Agatha (0), grand - princess
of Iiiissia, commemorated Feb. 7, with
her daughters-in-law, SS. MAKY and
CHKISTINA, massacred with the other
inhabitants of Vladimir by the Mongol
Tartars. Agatha was the wife of George
Vsevolodovitch, grand-prince of Russia
(1224-1238). When the Tartars were
devastating Kussia in the dreadful winter
of 1238, the grand-prince went to tho
province of Yaroslav to raise troops
and obtain help from his brothers and
nephews. He left his sons — Mstislaf
and Vsevolod — to hold the town of
Vladimir. They had in their care their
wives, Mary and Christina, their mother
tho grand-princess Agatha, some chil
dren, and other members of the family.
As the Tartars marched through tho
country they killed and destroyed, with
brutal ferocity, "tho burning towns and
rifled shrines proclaimed where they had

•d." Instead of living inhabitants
coming and going, were corpses lying
on the frozen ground, torn by wild
beasts and birds of prey. At Moscow
the Tartars butchered every man, woman,
and child, except Vladimir, tho second

if the grand-prince, and some youni^
monks and nuns, whom they carried off
with their army. On Feb. 2, 12: IS
they arrived before the town of Vladi
mir, and asked whether the grand-prince-
was at home. The Vladimirians, for
all answer, sent a flight of arrows into
their camp. The Mongols then sot
Agatha's son, the young prince Vladimir,
in front of their line, crying out, " Do
you recognize your prince ? " Indeed,
he was so altered by the grief and horror
of his situation and the ill treat
ment he had received, that they hardly
knew him. After a few days of brav--
defence, it became evident that tho case
was desperate. Tho princes, princesses,
and nobles determined not to fall alivo
into the hands of the barbarians. \
volod, his wife, and a number of tin;
most illustrious nobles and citizens
assemlilt 1 in tin; church of Our La ly.
They begged Metrophancs, the bisin»j>,
to give them tho monastic tonsure. This

solemnity was performed in profound
silence. They took leave of tho world
and of life, but prayed Heaven to pre-
s« rvo tho existence, the glory, and tho
cherished name of Kussia. On Feb. 7,
the Sunday of the carnival, after Matins.
the assault began. The Tartars rushed
into the new city by its four gat* s.
Mstislaf and Vsevolod withdrew with
their guard into the old town called
Petcherni, where they perished at tho
hands of the invaders. Their mother,
tho grand-princess Agatha, with her
daughter, her brothers, her daughters-
in-law, and her granddaughter, shut
themselves up in the cathedral. The
Mongols set it on fire. The bishop cried
aloud, " Lord ! stretch out Thine in
visible arms and receive Thy servants in
peace." Then he gave his blessing to
all present, devoting them to death.
Some were suffocated in the smoke, some
were burnt, some fell by the sword of
the Tartars, who broke in at last,
attracted by tho treasures they expected
to find. The names of the three prin
cesses, Agatha, Mary, and Christina, are
given in tho ancient manuscript, Lives of
the Saints, " Saints of Vladimir." Ka-
ramsin, Histoirc de Itussie, iii. o44, :J47,
4< '2, etc.

B. Agatha (7 ) of Gubbio, also called
AGATETTA. loth or 14th century. Nun
O.S.A. in the monastery of Santa Maria,
called Paradise. Jacobilli, Sattti </>//'
Uitbria*

St. Agathpclia, Sept. 17, M. 1st
century. Christian slave of Nicholas
and Paulina, who were apostates from
( 'hristianity. By another account she
was the slavo of a heathen woman and
the daughter of Nicholas and Paulina,
who were Christians. Her mistress
treated her with great cruelty for eight
years, and tried every means to induce
h« r to renounce her religion; she need
to send her barefooted in tho coldest
weather to gather wood. When she was
locked up without food, a nightingale
fed her by bringing her fruit from the
. At last her mistress came int<>
tin- prison and killed her with a red-hot
iron liar. >h«! is claimed as a Spaniard
by Salazar, who says she suffered at
Andiijsir in tho year i>4 ; but it is more

•ST. AGATHOXIA

likely that she lived and died in the
East, as her story only comes to us
through the Greek Church. H.M.
Stilting in AA.SS.

St. Agathonia (1), March :*o, M.
AA.SS.

St. Agathonia (2), April 1:5, M.
AA.SS.

St. Agathonica (1), April i:'>, M.
251. Sister of the deacon Papylus,
martyred under Decius ; after many tor
tures he was burnt with Carpus, bishop
of Thyatira, and many others. Aga
thonica, seeing her brother in the fire,
threw herself into the flames and died
with him. Their Acts are quoted by
Eusebius. R.M. Men. Basil, Oct. 13.
Baillet. Guenebault, Die. Icon , says
sister of Bishop Agathodorus ; M. with
him and their servant in the 3rd century.

St. Agathonica (2), Aug. in, M. at
Carthage, with BASSA and PAULA. R.M.

St. Agatia. ST. AGATHA is so called
in the Ruthenian Calendar.

St. Agatodia, Sept. 17. In the Bio-
cjrafia Celesicisticci, Agatodia appears to
be a clerical error for AGATHOCLIA.

St. Agetrue or AGERTRUDIS, GER
TRUDE of Nivelle.

St. Agia (1), Sept. 1 (AGA, AIE,
AroiA, AUSTREGILD). c. 609. Mother of
St. Lupus, bishop of Sens. Wife of
Betto, a lord of the court ; and sister of
two holy bishops, Austrenus of Orleans
and Aunarius of Auxerre. There are
about 10 saints called Lupus, or Leu, or
Loup. This one was born at Orleans.
He was banished from his see by king
Clothaire, through the covetousness of
a minister to whom ho would not give
bribes, and of an abbot who wanted to
take his bishopric. The king afterwards
recalled St. Lupus, kneeled at his feet to
ask his forgiveness, and treated him with
the greatest honour. Lupus died at
Sens in G23. AA.SS. Bailiet. Butler.

St. Agia (2), AYA.

St. Aglae (1), May 14 or 8. Peni
tent, c. 317. A woman of great wealth,
so fond of the luxuries and the pomps
and vanities of the world as to give
public games to the people at her own
expense. She lived at Komc apparently
about the beginning of the 4th cen
tury, but she is supposed to have been a

foreigner. She led a sinful life with
Boniface the manager of her aftairs, a
drunken and dissipated man, who, though
stained with many vices, had three good
qualities — pity for the unfortunate, liber
ality to the poor, and hospitality towards
strangers. After many years it pleased
God to touch the heart of Aglae with
compunction, and she said to Boniface,
" We arc living in sinful pleasure with
out reflecting that we shall have at last
to give an account to God of all that we
do in this life ; I have heard some of the
Christians say that those who honour
Saints and Martyrs who fight for Jesus
Christ shall be made partakers of their
glory in the other life. I hear that a
great many Christians are tortured and
put to death now in the East for Christ's
sake. Go there, and bring back some
relics of these holy martyrs, that we may
build oratories to them here and honour
their memory that so we may escape the
punishment of our vices and be saved
with them." This was probably in 307
or 300, under Galerius Maximiauus, who
continued, in the East, to persecute the
Church which had already had peace in
the West since the abdication of Dio
cletian, 305. Boniface obeyed her, and
as he took leave of hei', he said he would
bring back the bodies of some martyrs
if he could find any, and added, *s But
what if my body should be brought back
to you as that of a martyr, would you
honour it as such ? " Aglae rebuked
him for what she considered an untimely
jest, and said that he must reform his
life, and consider that he was going to
seek for holy relics. Boniface was so
impressed by the earnestness of his
mistress that he fasted from wine and
meat during the whole of his journey,
and prayed to God for grace to repent
and reform. He arrived in due time at
Tarsus in Cilicia. Leaving his servants
and horses at the inn, he went at once
to make inquiries about the Christians,
and see what was going on with regard
to them. He was soon satisfied on this
point, for he saw 2o of them under
going different forms of torture in the
Forum; one of them was hung up by
the feet over a fire. The spectators,
instead of beiiig imbued with a horror

ST. ACNKS

25

of Christianity, wcro struck with admi
ration at the constancy of the martyrs.
Boniface, having found what ho came to
seek, boldly embraced these men con
demned as malefactors and undergoing
the sentence of the law, and openly en
treated them to pray for him, that he
might have a share in their merits. He
t'orted them by saying that their
sufferings would soon be over, and their
recompense would bo eternal. The
judge, SimpliciuB, governor of Cilicia,
considered the conduct of Boniface as an
insult to himself and his gods, and had
him arrested on tho spot. Boniface,
thinking this was his last opportunity
of speaking, prayed to Christ, and cried
out to the martyrs to pray for him,
which they all did so loudly that a
tumult arose among the people, which
caused the judge to fear for his safety ;
he therefore sent Boniface to prison till
the disturbance was over. Next day,
finding him firm in his adherence to the
Christians and their God, he condemned
him to be beheaded at once. Thus was
Boniface rewarded for his kindness to
the martyrs by sharing their sufferings
and triumph. Meantime, his servants
began to be uneasy at his continued
absence, and, knowing his habits, they
sought him in wine-shops and taverns,
expecting to find him drunk in bad
company. It happened that one of the
persons of whom they inquired was the
gaoler's brother. When they described
their master as a stout, square-built,
fair man, with curly hair, and wearing a
scarlet mantle, he told them that must
be the man who had just been beheaded
on account of his profession of Chris
tianity. He then took them to the place
of execution, where, much to their sur
prise, they recognised the body of tin:
martyr. They ransomed it for 500
golden pence, embalmed it, and brought
it buck t<> Homo. Aglao went to meet
her dead friend a milo out of Home,
on tho Via Latina, where, thanking
God for His mercy, sho built a tomb
to his memory, and, some years after
wards, a chapel. According to Humans'
Unman JIiiiiHinrnln, the church was on
the Aveiitine, near the house of Aquihi
and Priscilla. The dedication of St.

Boniface *vas afterwards changed to that
of the young pilgrim. St. Alexius. Aglae
renounced the world, liberated her sluv- g,
LMVO her goods to tho poor, and spent
the remaining KJ years of her life
in devotion and penance, accompanied
only by two or three women who had
been her attendants, and who remained
Asith her after her conversion, and
adopted her altered way of living. She
died in peace, and was buried beside
St. Boniface. The day of her death is
supposed to bo May 8, but she is
generally honoured with St. Boniface on
the 14th. Her day in the Greek Church
is Dec. 19.

Baillet gives the story from the Acts
of St. Boniface, which he says are ancient
and founded on fact, but not authentic.
Henschenius, in a note, Feb. 25, says it
is possible Aglae lived and died, not at
Home, but at Tarsus in Cilicia.

B, Aglae (2), or AGLAA, Aug. 25,
Dec. 19, in the Greek Calendar. Nurse
of St. Patricia (4). Nutrix, perhaps,
means a relation or governess who
brought her up. (See ST. AMMIA.) St.
Aglay built a church and convent at tho
tomb of St. Patricia, at Naples ; there
many holy women took tho veil, and
many miraculous cures were wrought.
AA.SS. in tho Life of St. Patricia.

St. Agliberte, or AILBEBT, Aug. 11.
Second abbess of Jouarre.

St. Agna fl), May 18 (/EGINA,
EGEXA ), M. at Constantinople. AA.SS.

St. Agna ( 2 ), July 5, in tho Graco-
Slavonic Calendar, is supposed to mean
AN\A or AGNES.

St. Agne, Jan. 10. A mother, and
perhaps a martyr. Her name is in a
table of 48 Russian saints, given in
the introduction to vol. i. of Bollandi
A<-t<t SS. Maii. Her name is one of
2<>, marked with an asterisk to denote
that it is not known whether they
wcro Russian, or only adopted into the
calendar by tho Russians. She may bo
ST. AGNES, V. M., Latin Church, Jan. 21,
(iivek Church, July 5; or she may bo
a native saint. She may bo actually a
mother, or only so called, in accordance
with tho Russian custom, as a mark of
ivspect and atVection.

St. Agnes < 1 ), July 5, of Reggio, in

26

ST. AGNES

Calabria. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd century.
Three women, Agnes, PEKPETUA, and
FELICITAS are commemorated as fellow-
martyrs with the bishops, Stephen and
Suera, who wcro put to death for their
religion at Rhcgium, in Calabria, now
( according to Graesse) Sta. Agata delle
Galline. Janning, the Bollandist, gives
their story, but does not seem to think
it authentic. AA.SS.

St. Agnes (2), Jan. 21, 28, July 5
( Spanish, INEZ or YNEZ ; in some Greek
calendars, HAGNE), V. M. 302, 303, or
304. One of the four great patronesses
of the Western Church. Joint patron
with the VIRGIN MARY and ST. THECLA,
of innocence and purity ; special patron
of meekness. In art, her attribute is a
lamb, the emblem of meekness, and
typical of her Divine Master. She is
sometimes represented attended by angels,
who cover her with her own hair ; some
times standing in or near flames ; in
common with all martyrs, she holds a
palm ; and often, in common with many,
a sword ; sometimes she wears a crown.

The son of Sempronius, prefect of
Rome, observed a girl of 12 or 13
passing daily on her way to and
from school, and was struck with her
beauty and innocent childlike appear
ance. Having ascertained her name and
parentage, he tried to win her favour and
that of her family by gifts and other
attentions, all of which were declined.
The young man fell ill, and in time con
fessed to his anxious father that he was
dying for love of a little Christian maiden
who would have nothing to say to him.
The prefect did not doubt that Agnes'
parents, though rich, would be glad to
secure for her so advantageous & parti as
his son. Ho endeavoured to arrange the
matter, but with no better success. He
found, moreover, that the young lady
was vowed, from childhood, to a single
life, in honour and for love of her Lord,
Jesus Christ, the God of the Christians.
He therefore ordered that she should
either renounce her resolution and marry
his son, or join the sacred virgins who
served the goddess Vesta. Agnes replied
that she would never serve or acknow
ledge any god or goddess but Jesus
( 'hrist. Diocletian had already published

his famous edict for the suppression of
Christianity, which led to the tenth, the
last and greatest, general persecution of
the Church. Sempronius took advantage
of the law to gain his own ends or satisfy
his vengeance. Agnes — like many others
whom the Church honours as martyrs,
many more whose names are known only
to God, some who were miraculously
protected from insult, and some, as inno
cent in heart and will, whom God suffered
to pass through the lowest depths of
infamy — was condemned to degradation.
She was deprived of her garments, but
was clothed with a miraculous light, so
that every one who attempted to look at
her was struck blind. Her hair fell all
round her like a veil. In the place of
infamy to which she was taken she prayed
for Divine protection, and was provided
with a white robe which seemed to be
brought to her from heaven. Her good-
for-nothing lover, bent on continuing
his suit, approached her with words of
insult and with wicked intent, but fell
down dead, and was only restored when
the young martyr, at the entreaty of his
parents, prayed for his return to life.
She was then accused of sorcery and
condemned to be burnt. A prayer iu
a service-book of the Roman Catholic
Church speaks of " the Blessed Agnes
standing in the middle of the flames
like a ship in the midst of the sea,
praying and stretching out her hands
to God." As she remained unhurt amid
the flames till they went out, she was
beheaded.

Such is the legend of the Western
Church ; that of the East says that, as
by her instructions she converted a
great many wicked women, she was put
to torture, and then condemned to
the station held by her disciples before
their conversion. She was miraculously
defended from evil, and finally burnt as
a sorceress.

She was the first martyr of any
celebrity in the West, as St. George was
the first in the East, in this great tenth
persecution. Her name is in the Canon
of the Mass. She ranks next to the
VIUGI.V MAIIY among women honoured
as saints, and is the chief of virgin
martyrs in the Latin Church. She is

ST. AGXES

one of tho few saints distinguished in
the offices of tho ancient Church by the
title " Virgin," which was then reserved
almost exclusively for tho Blessed Virgin
Mary, though in later times it was be
stowed on every nun or young girl with
any claim to sanctity, and sometimes even
on matrons who became nuns late in life.
St. Augustine says that tho name
"Agnes" means "chastity" in Greek,
and " a lamb " in Latin ; it is not certain
whether she bore this name in her life,
or whether it was given to her after
wards. Her Acts are not older than the
7th century ; but she was honoured
throughout tho ( 'hristian world in tho
same century in which her martyrdom
occurred. She is mentioned by St.
Jerome, who says that in his time her
praisi- was heard in all languages; by
St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, and other
writers of the 4th and the beginning of
the 5th centuries. Numbers of Christians
used to resort to her grave to pray,
especially on the anniversary of her
martyrdom. ST. EMERENTIANA, who is
supposed to have been her foster-sister,
was stoned to death while praying at
the tomb of Agnes, which was near tho
Via Xomentana. The Christians were
sometimes joined by heathens, from
motives of curiosity, veneration, or super
stition ; among them ST. CONSTANTLY,
daughter of tho Emperor Constantino,
pri vioiis to her conversion, commended
herself to the mercy of St. Agnes, for
tho cure of a distressing and disfiguring
disease. As she immediately recovered,
she became a Christian, and persuaded
her father to build a church over tho
grave of the martyr. There she and
several other women devoted themselves
to a religious life. This church was re
paired by Pope Honorius in tho 7th
century, and gives titlo to a cardinal.
In it yearly, on her festival, two lambs
an- blessed at high Mass ; they are then
taken to the Tope to bo blessed again,
afterwards they are consigned to certain
nuns who make pallimns of their wool ;
these are blessed by tho Pope, who pn-
ts them to archbishops. Another
chun-h was biiilt by Innocent IX.
iio site of her death, and dedicated
t<> (Jod in her nam> •. HIT martyrdom

is commemorated on Jan. 21, and her
appearance in glory to her relations and
fellow-Christians on the 28th. Inno
cent III. made St. Agnes the first patron
of tho new Order of the Most Holy
Trinity for the Redemption of Captives.
ST. ELISABETH of Schouau, 12th century,
known by her visions and revelations,
asserted that St. Agnes was little and
plump, and had red cheeks and curly
hair. It.M. \Eol\tmduB, A A. SS. Butler.
Baillet. Flos Sanctorum. Golden Legend.
Leyendario delle Santissime VeryinL
Nenology of the Emperor Basil. Cahicr.
Husenbeth. Mrs. Jameson.

St. Agnes (3), Oct. 18, V. M. with
Victor or VICTORIA, and BASSA, at Ostia
or Xicomcdia. Supposed to be a njistako
for the great ST. AGNES, V. M. at Rome.
AA.SS.

St. Agnes (4), Aug. 28, V. M. 383.
A native of Britain, of royal or noblo
birth. One of the companions of ST.
URSULA, and martyred with her at
Cologne. Tho French Martyroloijy says
she was martyred in England, whence
her relics were translated to Cologne.
Both accounts are probably fabulous,,
the story of St. Ursula being enveloped
in mystery and improbability, and the
story of tho 1 1 ,000 martyred virgins
offering a field for unlimited specula
tion and romance. Tho only authority
on which the history of St. Agnes of
Britain rests is that of the man to whom
she appeared and revealed it. Watson,
English Martyrology*

St. Agnes < .*> ). There is a dedica
tion in Cornwall always written St. Agues
:u nl always pronounced St. Anne. Per
haps to this saint belongs tho legend in
Dr. Cobham Brewer's Header's Handbook.
There are, in the rocks on tho coast,
holes communicating with tho sea. A
sort of ogre, or evil spirit, spoken of in
that region as a " Wrath," was in love
with St. Agnes. She said if ho could
fill a certain one of thcso holes with his
blood, she might regard him with favour.
He began at once to bleed himself, and
tho saint encouraged him until he w:is
dying of exhaustion, and then pushed
him over tho cliff.

St. Agnes (0), May 13. V. 7th cen
tury. Abbess at Poitiers. Patron of

28

B. AGNES

the Trinitarians, and against perils at
sea. Brought up by ST. RADEGUND,
queen of France, who founded the abbey
of Ste. Croix, at Poitiers, and gave it
the rule of ST. CESARIA ; she appointed
Agnes first abbess of her convent, and
went with her to Aries to be instructed
in the rule. Radegund died a nun in
the same convent in 687, leaving to it a
large endowment by a will, in which
Agnes is mentioned. The existence of
these two saints within their " narrowing
nunnery walls" was enlivened by the
friendship and sympathy of a poet whose
works have come down to us. Venantius
Fortunatus, the last Latin poet of Gaul,
was for many years an inmate of the
monastery of Ste. Croix. After visiting
the kings and bishops of F"rance, he
came to pay his respects to the widowed
queen Radegund, stepmother of the
kings, and was so charmed with the
amiable and intellectual society and
the superior cultivation of the sisterhood,
that he stayed there as chaplain and
almoner till the death of St. Radegund.
The queen often sent him on important
missions to various personages, and thus
the community were kept informed and
interested concerning what was going on
in other places. He managed the ex
ternal business of the nuns, and took
part in their occupations. They read
and transcribed books, they acted plays,
they received visitors, they had little
feasts on birthdays. Fortunatus made
himself agreeable to them as he had
done to saintly bishops and half-civilized
kings ; and he found their house an
oasis of peace and refinement in a desert
of barbarism. His writings describe
the convent life and the food, in which
he seems to have been a connoisseur.
He takes Christ to witness that his
affection for Agnes was that of a brother.
Among his poems are two hymns adopted
by the Church — Panqv, lingua and
Vexilla Regis. He wrote a Life of St.
ll'tilnjmul, which, as well as another by
one of her nuns, is preserved by the
Bollandists. He was born in Italy
about 53o, and died bishop of Poitiers
early in the 7th century. SS. Radegund
and Agnes had a great deal of trouble
with two very naughty princesses,

Chrodielde and Basiue (xee AUDOVERA),
who were placed under their care, and
who, after the death of these first rulers
of Ste. Croix, rebelled against Ludovcra,
the next abbess, one of them demand
ing that office as a king's daughter,
though utterly unqualified for the post.
A great scandal ensued ; bishops and
kings had to interfere before the re
fractory ladies were removed, to the
great relief of Ludovera and the good
nuns. AA.SS. Boll., Aug. 13. St. Rade
gund is in all the collections, and St.
Agnes is always mentioned in her story.
Nouvelle Biographic Univerxelle, " For-
natus." Diet, of Christian B'KHJ., " Rha-
degundis " and " Fortunatus." Thierry,
Becits Merovingiens.

B. Agnes (7), Dec. 23. Called
AGNES AUGUSTA and AGNES of Aquitaiue
or of Poitiers, j- 1077. O.S.B. Daugh
ter of William, duke of Aquitaiue.
Second wife of Henry III. (the Black),
king of Germany, Emperor. Mother of
Henry IV. Grandmother of B. AGNES,
marchioness of Austria. The dukes of
Aquitaine were the most powerful vas
sals of the crown of France, and very
rich. An alliance with them was as
advantageous as one with the house of
Capet ; and there was more refinement
and culture at their court than at that
of the king. Agnes's father was dis
tinguished among the princes of his
time, no less by his virtues and intel
lectual tastes and accomplishments, than
for his territorial wealth and other ad
vantages. He had been dead some years
when, in 1043, Agues married Henry,
king of Germany. When first the pro
ject of Henry's marriage was known in
Germany, many good people objected,
fearing that a queen from France, and
from a court where modern fashions
prevailed, would be less circumspect and
dignified than the first lady in Germany
ought to be ; and would introduce ex
travagant and unseemly customs and
modes of dress ; but this fear soon
proved groundless : nothing could bo
more modest, amiable, sincerely con
scientious, and religious, than the cha
racter and behaviour of the young queen.
She was crowned at Maintz, and her
first home in Germany was Ingelheim.

B. AGXES

20

On Christmas Day, 10-tn, Henry and
Agnes were crowned Emperor and Em
press, by Clement II., in St. Peter's
Church at Home.

Both as a man and as a king Henry
III. was of " the salt of the earth." Ho
ruled with a strong hand, and under his
e way the empire attained its highest
greatness. In 1048, Leo IX. became
Pope, and in him Henry found a hearty
fellow-worker in the iield of reform.
Had Leo and Henry lived for ever, or
had they even reigned .'><» years, what
might not such a Pope and such an Em
peror have effected ! They did accomplish
and reform a great deal in the nearly
live years of their contemporary reigns.

One of the dangers to the peace of
Europe was the power of the Countess
I'x atrico of Tuscany, whoso second hus
band, the duke of Lorraine, was a some
what troublesome vassal of the empire,
was partly to set a balance to tho
»wcr of Beatrice, that Henry sought a
;w alliance with another powerful
)man, B. ADELAIDE of Susa. She was
y connected with the imperial
use by her first marriage, and in 1055
enry betrothed his son Henry, aged
e, to Bertha, her daughter by her third
sband, Odo, margravo of Turin and
unt of Savoy. The next year, Victor
.., another reforming Pope, came to pay
a visit to tho Emperor at Goslar, and
went with him to Bodfeld, his hunting-
castle in tho Hartz. There, to the grief
of the world, Henry, not yet in his 4<»th
year, left all his good deeds and great
projects unfulfilled and unfinished : he
diid Get. .">, ln;,t;, and was buried at
Speier. beside his father and mother.
J'"pe Victor took the child Henry im
mediately to Aachen f Aix-la-Chapelle),
and crowned him. Agnes was regent.
Probably no woman could have taken
linn hold of the reins laid down by
II' :iry III. The widow< d empress was
quite unlit for the task; she had neither
the energy nor the ability to rule a great
empire consisting of separate states and
powerful vassals, always rivals to each
other and sometimes to tho supreme
power. She had not the discernment to
choose her friends and ministers wisely;
she listened now to one adviser and now

to another. She had no ambition for
herself, and only longed to escape from
the cares and pomps of tho world and
retire to a monastery. She tried to
bring up her son properly, but it was
the interest of some unprincipled per
sons to deprave his tastes and frustrate
her good intentions towards him, as well
as to stultify her efforts for the govern
ment of the country. Anno, archbishop
of Cologne, was one of the most power
ful and unscrupulous of the many
troublesome magnates who strove for
the chief power in the empire ; he deter
mined to further his own importance and
influence by obtaining the custody of
the young king. He went to pay his
respects to the empress and her son
at a place now called Kaiserswertli
on the Pthiue, where they were staying
with a small retinue. He was hospit
ably welcomed and entertained, and
spared no effort to make himself agree
able to tho young king; he told him
ho had come down the river in his new
barge, which was beautifully fitted up
for a pleasure trip, and suggested that
Henry should come and see it where it
lay below the palace. The boy gladly
went. He was no sooner on board than
the rowers, who had been well instructed
in the plot, struck tho water with their
oars and pulled with all their strength
and speed up tho stream. Henry was
dismayed and angry. He threw himself
into tho river, but one of tho bishop's
men jumped into the water and rescued
him at the risk of his own life. Tho
people on shore were very indignant
at Anno's treachery. Tho empress
wept and wrung her hands, but did not
know what to do, and after a time ac
quiesced in tho state of things. Anno
shamefully neglected the education of
tho boy, furnished him with frivolous
and debasing amusements, allowed his
abilities to run to waste, and suffered
him to acquire habits of self-indulgence,,
and to give way to bursts of fury. In
1065, when Henry was l.~>, the ceremony
of girding him with a sword was held
at Worms. That sword he would have
used for the first time to kill his detested
guardian, had not his mother restrained
him. Some other incidents of his life

30

B. AGNES

are told in the account of his mother-in-
law, B. ADELAIDE of Susa.

It was probably between the years
1065 and 106i> that Agnes left Germany,
and took the veil without vows at Fru-
<lollc or Fructuaria, a Benedictine mon
astery near Turin. From there she
went to Rome, and lived at the church
of ST. PETKONILLA. She made a general
confession to St. Peter Damiani, and
had him thenceforth for her spiritual
adviser. She had n great regard for
Pope Gregory VII., an esteem which he
reciprocated, but, much to her grief, her
son was constantly in opposition to him.
In 1074 the Pope had a plan to go in
person and bring the Eastern Church
into his own fold. He proposed that
the Empress Agnes and the Countess
Matilda should accompany him, as pil
grims, on this pious expedition, saying
he would gladly lay down his life for
Christ with these holy women by his
side, assured of meeting them again in
eternal bliss. Agnes made many at
tempts to effect a reconciliation between
her son and the Pope, but all her efforts
were futile, and she was present at a
council in the Lateran at Rome, Feb.
21, 1070, in which Gregory pronounced
the ban of the Church against Henry,
and loosed his subjects from their alle
giance to him. This led to his humili
ating expedition to Canossa in January,
1077. (See ADELAIDE of Susa.) Towards
the end of that year Agnes died at
Rome. An old Italian sermon says that
St. Agnes Augusta never visited any
church except in a dress of plain linen
and common serge. Stephens, Hilde-
brand. Giesebrecht, Dcutscldunds K«i-
serzcii. Wion, Lignum Vitce, who calls
her " Saint." Lechner, M<irf. <l<'* Ben.
Or den*.

B. Agnes (8), Feb. 11», V. t nOO.
Abbess of Bagnarea (Balnei), in Italy.
Of the order of Camaldoli, a native of
Sarsina, " the dignity of whose merits,"
Bucelinus says, " is shown to us by God
unto this day, for on her festival the
waters of the baths emit an unusual
light and increase wonderfully in quan
tity." She rests in the church at Castri
Pereti Parva, where she has an altar.
Bucelinus. Wion.

B. Agnes (9), Nov. 1 ,">, Marchioness
of Austria. Founder of Klosterneuburg.
Daughter of Henry IV., emperor of Ger
many. Granddaughter of B. AGNES, em
press. Sister of Henry V. Married, first,
Frederic, duke of Swabia, by whom she
was the mother of Conrad, emperor, and
of Frederick, father of Frederick Barba-
rossa; secondly, in HOC, she married
Leopold III., sixth marquis of Austria,
saint and confessor, surnamed the Pious,
who succeeded his father in 1006. Of
this marriage there were IS children,
seven of whom died in infancy, and
all the rest were distinguished by great
deeds and virtuous lives. Leopold,
the second son, succeeded his father as
marquis of Austria, and was duke of
Bavaria. Otho, the fifth son, abbot of
Morimond and bishop of Frisingen,
wrote a famous chronicle from the begin
ning of the world, besides other books.

Agnes took part in all her husband's
good works. They read the Holy Scrip
tures together, and used to rise at
midnight to perform the devotions pre
scribed by the Church. They desired
to watch continually at the foot of the
altar, but being obliged by their station
to attend to other duties, they determined
to build a church and monastery at
' Klosterneuburg, a few miles from Vienna,
where canons should attend day and
night to this duty in their'stead. While
they were in doubt where to build the
monastery, they were riding along on a
perfectly still day, when a sudden gust
of wind flew away with a little flame-
coloured veil that Agnes was wearing ;
nine years afterwards Leopold found it
in perfect preservation on an elder bush.
They took this as an indication of the
spot on which their monastery should
be built. (Perz., 1. 616.) They also
founded the Cistercian monastery of the
Holy Cross near Kalnpcrg, where they
lived, 1 2 miles from Vienna.

After a glorious and happy reign of
4<> years, Leopold died Nov. 15, 1 !•'!<>,
and was buried in his monastery of
Klosterneuburg. This is the oldest
and richest chapter (Chorlierreustift) in
Austria ; it owns a great part of the
country around Vienna. Gynecseum.
Butler, Life of St. Leopold.

ST. AGNES

i 1

B. Agnes d"), March ::i, of Braiuc,
•f 114:. or 114!'. Wife of Andrew,
count of Baudemont, lord of IJraine, and
seneschal of Champagne. They were so
pious and charitable that their house
was like a hospice. Agnes employed
her servants to servo the poor, and, when
they required rest, performed the work
herself. With the consent of her husband
and children, she gave estates and rents
to certain churches and monasteries of
the Premonstratensiaus. She took the
veil in that order in 11,'W. Count
Andrew became a monk of the Order of
Clairvaux, and is mentioned in a letter
of St. I'.rrnard (No. 22(3) to King Louis
VII. of Franco.

It is a disputed point whether the
monastery of St. Evodo (Euodius), at
1 '.mine, was founded by B. Agnes or
by her granddaughter Agnes, who was
married to Kobert, count of Dreux,
brother of Louis VII. Guy, son of the
elder and father of the younger Agnes,
became a lay-brother there, and is
counted among the Beati of the Pre-
monstratensian Order. Le Paige, Bill.
Prsem. Ord., lib. i. 340, and lib. ii. 480.
Boll., A A. SS. She is called " Saint "
by some writers, "Blessed" by others;
but by Saussaye, Mart. Gall., and
Gelenius, only "Venerable" and
"Pious."

B. Agnes (11), March 28. Middle of
12th century. Of Chatillon. Called by
Bucelinus Agnes dc Satillon, and by
Guerin Agnes du Catillon. Cistercian
nun at Beau Pn', near Tournay in Bel
gium, where she was sub-prioress, and
afterwards mistress of the novices. Boll.,
.Ll.-S'.S'. l[«Mirii|ucz, Lilia Cistcrcii.
Bncelinus, Nv,i. Jlen.

St. Agnes i 12 i, Sept. 1. Middle of
12th century. Of Venosa, or Vonusia.
Abbess. Penitent.

St. William of Monte Vergino was a
monk of the Order of St. Benedict, and
founder of the Hermits of Monte Y< r-
gin<;, and of several houses of that order.
When liogor, the young Norman king
of Sicily, came into Apulia, which was
part of his dominions, William preached
before him and his courtiers; the king
i« (1 attentively, but entertained some
doubts of the sincerity of the man who

set up a higher standard of virtue than
others; but Count George, the king's
admiral, was enchanted with William,
and regarded him as a holy prophet.
When the preacher had taken leave of
the king and his friends, and returned
to his lodging, a wicked woman uaniol
Agnes came to them, and said she would
show them what a hypocrite William
was. George was vexed, but the king
laughed, and promised her an immense
reward if she could seduce William.
She wont to the inn where he was stay
ing, and talked to him, and then came
and told the king she had not had any
difficulty in persuading him to make an
assignation for the same night, and that
he had even made her promise to sleep
in the very bed that he would, in the
mean time, prepare for himself. George
boldly said ho believed the woman was
telling a lie. She laughed and said he
should soon see that it was true. Wagers
were made on both sides, and it was
arranged that some of the courtiers
should be concealed in the room and
should hear all that happened. William
got his companions to collect quantities
of wood and make a huge fire. At the
appointed hour Agnes arrived, beauti
fully dressed and perfumed ; he met her
at the door, and she said, " Where is yoiu-
room, that I may be alono with you ? "
Ho answered, "In the name of God,. I
will show you my room and my bed."
Soon the woman, fearing she was making
no impression upon him, and knowing
that her reward depended on her com
plete success, said, " I think you forget
what I have come here for." It was a
cold night, and there was a large fire
on the hearth. William raked all the
burning wood out of the fire-place into
tbr middle of the floor, and carefully
arranged it so as to form a broad layer
of tire. On this he lay down, and
beckoning to his temptress, he said,
11 < 'ome, here is your place, you engaged
to lie down beside mo; there is room
for you : hero is your place." She was
frightened, so ho wont on to say, "You
cannot bo afraid of a little lire ! This
lire will soon be burnt out, but you are
going straight to where the fire is never
quenched. Perhaps you want to know

32

B. AGNES

what burning feels like : como here and
try a little of it." While his burning
clothes and flesh proved his sincerity,
he went on talking so earnestly and so
persuasively, that Agnes was first ter
rified at the judgments in store for her ;
then, horrified at her evil life, she
resolved to forsake it. She went and
told the king what had happened, and
that she wished now to be converted.
Next morning the repentant courtiers
confessed to him that they had been
jealous of William's influence, and had
set this snare for him. Soon afterwards,
when William came again to preach to
the court, Eoger and George ran to
meet him, and knelt at his feet. William
taught Agnes to pray for true penitence,
and when, some years later (1128), he
founded his great double monastery at
Guleto (afterwards called St. William's),
near Nuscum, in Apulia, she became a
nun in it. She sold all that she had, and
with the proceeds he built a nunnery at
Venosa, and here Agnes seems to have
eventually become abbess. When Wil
liam felt the approach of death he gave
his parting advice and blessing to the
monks of Monte Ycrgine, and then to
the nuns, and died in the house of the
latter, in 1142. St. Agnes erected a
marble tomb over him in her church.
The story is told by Pinius the Bollan-
dist, in the Life of St. William, pp. 113,
128, 131, June 25. AA.SS. She is not
there called a saint, but is so called in
the Analc-cta Juris Pontificii, vol. iii.
p. ,523. Her name is also in Ferrarius'
Calendar, Sept. 1.

It has been conjectured that she is
the same as the Benedictine abbess who
died at Rome, but the date of the latter
is considerably Later.

B. Agnes (l 3), Feb. 2 1 , V. t ] 1 80-
Cistercian nun at Nuitz (Nonessium),
in Germany. Her soul was seen by her
twin sister, ST. HILDEGUND, carried to
heo-ven by angels with celestial music.
Henriquez, Lilia Cist. Monstier, Gyne-
cseum. Boll., AA.SS. says she is not
worshipped.

B.Agnes (14), June 14 or 15, Y.
Early in J .'5th century. Cistercian nun at
Ramey, in Brabant. B. IDA OF NIVKI.LI:
saw a place prepared in heaven for

Agnes long before her death. Buce-
linus. Henriquez. Monstier.

B. Agnes (15), Jan. 21, April 5.
i: 5th century. Of Liege. O.S.B. Nun
of the Cistercian convent of Mont Cor-
nillon, near Liege, under her younger
sister, B. JULIANA. Boll., AA.SS. Hen
riquez. Bucelinus.

B. Agnes (10), Sept. 1. t 1241.
O.S.B. Abbess. Illustrious for miracles.
Died at Rome, and was buried in the
church of ST. AGNES (2) there. This
is perhaps the same as ST. AGNES (12),
abbess of Venosa ; if so, there is a mis
take of a century in the date. Pinius,
the Bollandist, thinks they are not the
same, but throws no light on this one.
AA.SS. Wion, Lignum Vitsc.

St. Agnes (17) of Assisi, Nov. 10.
•f 1253. When her sister, ST. CLARA, had
been placed, by St. Francis, in the Bene
dictine convent of St. Angelo de Panso,
near Assisi, Agnes, then about 14, who
was the object of her strongest human
affection, and whose company in her
retreat she asked of God, went to her
and said she would stay with her, and
follow her example and advice. Their
relatives were very angry, and twelve of
them came to take Agnes away by force.
She appealed to her sister not to allow
her to be carried off. Clara prayed that
this violence might be prevented, and
when they had gone a little way down the
hill on which the convent stood, the little
Agnes became so heavy that the twelve
persons who were conducting her were
unable to lift her across a narrow brook,,
although they called some labourers to
their assistance. Her uncle Monaldi,
who was of the party, was so enraged
that ho drew his sword, and would have
stabbed her, but his hand became power
less, and he could neither strike with
the weapon nor put it back into the
scabbard. Clara now appeared amongst
them, and was allowed to take her sister
back to the convent: this was in 1212.
Very soon afterwards they both removed
thence to the church of St. Damian, the
third of those repaired by St. Francis.
It became the first great convent of
Franciscan or Clarissan nuns. The fol
lowing year they had several disciples,
of whom the first were BB. PACIFIC A,

ST. ACiXKS

33

AM ATA, niece of CLARA, CHRISTINA (10),
FRANCES (3 >, BBNVKNI PA, and A<

r,i:i;\Ai;i>i. In 1221 St. Francis appointed
Agnes superior of the new community
oi Bionticelli, at Florence. She returned
to Assisi, was present at the death of
St. Clara in 1253, and died the same
year at the age of 55. Mrs. Oliphant,
Fntiirig of Assisi. Helyot, Ordrcs Mon-
astiques, vii. 25. Cron. Serafica, ii.
A.R.M. Mart. Seraph. Ord. and Ord.
'ccinorum. Her life will bo given
by the Bollandists when their calendar
comes down to Nov. 1(1.

B. Agnes (is) Peranda, Sept. 17,
Feb. 2S. t !-sl- Abbess of Barco-
loua. O.S.F. Niece of ST. CLARA, sent
by her to establish a Franciscan convent
at Barcelona. Agnes was accompanied
by her niece, B. CLAHA, who is com
memorated with her. The convent was
first inhabited about 1233; and Agnes
presided over it for 4<S years. Clara did
not long survive her, and their bodies
were solemnly translated by the bishop
and six Benedictine abbots, Feb. 28.
Monstier, Gynecsenin, does not say how
long after their deaths this ceremony
took place, but mentions that Alfonso
Colona was the name of the bishop. Her
life is in the Cronica Scrapliicd, vol. ii.
Boll., AA.SS. Prxter., Sept. 1 7, Feb. 28.

B. Agnes (n») Bernardi, March 3.
Daughter of Opportulus Bernardi. A
nun who spent her life in tho convent
at Assisi, being placed there in her
childhood, under ST. CLAHA (2). Gync-

Ci' n in.

B. Agnes (2o) of Bohemia, June 7.
Aunt of the more famous sainted prin
cess of tho same name. Daughter of Wen-
zel or WladislauK II., duke of Bohemia.
Sister of Premysl Ottokar I., first king
of Bohemia ( 1 L98-1230). Sister of ST.
ANGELA. Abbess of St. George's at
Prague, which she restored. Procured
from the king, her brother, some privi
leges for her monastery. Buried near
B. MLADA, in tlu; ehapel of St. Anna, in
tho monastery of St. George. She was
a professed sister of tho Prcmonstru-
teusiau Order, and is worshipped as a
saint at Prague, but not throughout the
Church. Bueelinus, Epitome rcnun l> -
kemicarum. Chaiiowski,

, GcscJt id it nm P><>lnnen. AA.SS.
I '.oil. Prae/c/-., Juno 7. Wadding, in Lis
A a nidcs.

There seems to be an Agnes in every
generation of tho royal and ducal house
of Bohemia. Many of them were holy
nuns, and some aro occasionally con
founded with the two above named, to
the multiplication of saints and of
miracles.

St. Agnes (21) of Bohemia, March (5.
1205-1 2S2. Patron of Bohemia. Prin
cess. Franciscan nun. Sometimes re
presented with a basket of bread beside
her ; sometimes with the Saviour taking
a crown from her head and replacing it
with a better one. Daughter of Premysl
Ottokar L, first king of Bohemia (1198-
123n)f by bis second wife Constance,
sister of King Andrew of Hungary.
Agnes was sister of B. ANNA, duchess of
Breslau and half-sister of ST. ABDELA.
First cousin of ST. ELIZABETH OP HUN-
OAKY. Niece of the other holy Princess
AGNES OF BOHEMIA. She was born Jan.
20, 1205, in the Bysehrad or Wishegrad,
at Prague. Before her birth her mother
saw in a dream a coarse, ragged, grey
gown under her gold- embroidered robes
of state, and thought her dream meant
that her child should one day wear such
a garment. At three years old Agnes
was betrothed to Henry Boleslaus, eldest
son of the Duke of Silesia and the holy
duchess ST. HEDWIG; she was sent to
his country to be brought up in its
language and manners. At the death
of "her tfiftnc(j\ when she was only six, she
was taken back to her parents, who
entrusted her education to tho nuns of
the Premonstratcnsian cloister of Doxan.
After the lapse of a few years she was
betrothed to Henry, son of tho Emperor
Frederick II. ; but, by some strange
fatality, tho name of the bride was
omitted from the contract of betrothal,
which seemed to some persons unlucky,
to others a sign that a still higher
alliance was tho destiny of tho young
princess. She was now sent to Vienna
to learn German and finish her educa
tion tit tho court of her future husband.
Here she spent more time in works of
pi«-ty and charity than in the pomps and
gaieties of the court, fasting strictly on

ST. AGXKS

bread and wine during the whole of
Advent, though her companions took
eggs and milk, which were allowed by
the clergy. She visited and relieved
the poor, but escaped all praise of men
by keeping these charitable expeditions
secret, except from her governess and a
few confidential friends and companions.
Meantime her marriage was put off again
and again, on one "ground or another, and
finally broken off for political reasons,
so she returned to Bohemia, and Henry
married the Austrian duchess Margaret.

After this Agnes was sought in mar
riage by two great kings : one was
Frederick II., the widowed father of her
former fiance ; the other was Henry III.
of England. The Emperor's ambassador
dreamt that he saw Agues standing on
clouds ; that she had on a small, dim
crown ; and that this was taken from
her head, and replaced by a larger and
more brilliant one. This he interpreted
to his own advantage, supposing that his
sovereign would be preferred to the king
of England.

Premysl Ottokar died 1230, and was
succeeded by his son, Agnes's brother,
Wenzel III. From this time Agnes
made it her custom to go out every
morning before daybreak, disguised, and
accompanied by a few of her most in
timate companions, to visit several
churches and honour holy relics, though
her feet were bleeding from the excessive
cold. After this she used to come home
and warm herself, and attend Mass in
the nearest church in her robes of state,
and accompanied by her court ladies.
Her bed was covered with splendid quilts,
and furnished with soft pillows ; but it
was all for show, — she slept on a hard
little pallet.

King Wenzel favoured the suit of the
Knipuror. Agnes, seeing that she would
have to be his wife if she did not make
an effort for her liberty, addressed her
self to Pope Gregory IX., praying him
to save her from the yoke of marriage,
as she had betrothed herself to Christ
the Lord. The holy Father took the
pious princess under his protection, and
wroto to the king of Bohemia on the
subject. Wenzel loved his sister Agnes
better than any other person or thing

on earth, and admired and trusted her
absolutely. When he received the Pope's
letter sanctioning Agnes's vocation, he
was vexed that she had written without
consulting him, and had asked for pro
tection from any one else. The Emperor
was angry at first; afterwards he said
that if he had seen an earthly king
preferred before him, he would have
taken stern vengeance ; but as Agues
had chosen the Lord Christ instead of
him, he would resign his claim.

It was about 1233, when she was
2S, that all projects of marriage were
finally given up, and she saw herself
free to follow her vocation. St. Francis
of Assisi had been dead about seven
years, and some members of the order
had already come to Prague. ST. CLAUA,
the first and greatest of Franciscan nuns,
the personal friend of St. Francis, was
still living, and was not many years
older than Agnes. Agnes took Clara for
her pattern. The two saintly ladies
exchanged several letters, some of which
are preserved ; and in 1 234, with the
approval of the Pope, St. Clara sent five
nuns of her order from Italy to Prague,
and Agnes joined that order, with seven
young Bohemian ladies .of the highest
nobility.

In presence of Wenzel III., the queen,
seven bishops, and an immense number
of persons of every rank and station, her
hair was cut off, and she exchanged her
jewelled robes for the rough grey habit
of the poor Clares. After her example,
numbers of women of the most ancient
and honourable families in Bohemia,
Moravia, and Silesia began to leave the
world and build cloisters, in which to
serve God and take care of their souls.
Before her profession, the Pope's legate
advised her to keep some part of her
own property for any emergency that
might arise ; but she decided to give
one-third to the Church, one-third to
the nuns, and one-third to the poor.

The Pope commanded that Agnes
should be abbess of her new convent;
but she had so small an opinion of her
self, that she placed every nun above
her, felt herself unworthy to rule, and
performed the most menial offices of the
house. When she worked in the kitchen,

ST. AGM.s

she made little delicacies, and sent them
to the sick in other convents ; she cleaned
and mended the clothes of the lepers.
Having no endowment, and living on
alms, the community once ran short of
food, and were threatened with starva
tion ; but a basket of bread and fish
suddenly appeared by Agnes's side, and
was supposed to have been brought by
angels.

St. Clara heard with great joy of
Agnes's progress in holiness, and wrote
to encourage her. She sent her the
Franciscan rule, drawn up by Innocent
IV. (1 24:5-1 L\vr>, and some little pre
sents, such as her own drinking-cup,
plate, veil, and girdle, which, with some
of her letters, are still shown in the
convent of St. Damian at Prague.

In 1235 Pope Gregory IX., writing
to Beatrice, queen of Castile, exhorts her
to walk in the footsteps of the blessed
ELIZABETH of Hungary, and holds np for
her admiration Agnes, sister of the king
of Bohemia. Two years afterwards
Gregory ordered that, on account of the
rigorous climate of Bohemia, the nnns
should not be subjected to the extreme
privations practised by their sisters in
Italy. For instance, on Sundays and
Thursdays they were to have two abun
dant meals, of which eggs and milk were
to form part; on the great festivals, i.e.
Christmas. Easter, the feasts of the
BLESSED VIIUJIN MAIIY and the Apostles,
they were not to fast at all. They were
to wear two garments and to use fur
mantles, to wear shoes, and to fill their
pillows and bed-sacks with hay and
.. In 11'}:; Allies procured further
mitigations of the asceticism of the rule,
on account of its uusuitability to the
re climate of her country. She did
not spare herself, but she saw that it
was impossible the rule should continue
to exist in Bolicuii i without some modi
fication.

Won/el wrote and thanked the 1'ope
for his kindness to his sister. This
letter was read at uoral Council

of Lyons, ll_M:>, :ind is to be se< u in the
Hcgcsttt ll«hi ni',-i >f .!/<-/•, ',-,',•', ].;Lrs i. Op.
Carol Erbcn., 1865. \\Yn/.-l had tin-
test veneration for his sister, and ho
and all Bohemia thanked her when she

effected a reconciliation between him
and his son, Premysl Ottokar II., who
had rebelled against him. \Ven/el died
in 1253,'and was buried in the church of
his sister's convent. Agnes lived nearly
thirty years longer: she died in Il's2,
having been a nun for forty-seven years.
Just before her death, when she had
received the last sacraments, Katherine,
one of her nuns, who had a weakness
in her feet, and had not been able to
stand for ten years, entreated her com
panions to bring her into the presence
of the dying abbess, which they did,
although Katherino was suffering great
pain. She then besought Agues to cure
her infirmity. Agnes, in her humility,
did not believe that she had the grace of
miracles ; but Katherino took her hand,
and with it made the sign of the cross
over her feet, and therewith was sud
denly healed. Her body retained the
flexibility, and her face the colour, of
life ; and many miracles were wrought,
one in favour of her sister-in-law, Queen
Judith, so that many sick persons com
mended themselves to the prayers of the
departed saint, and wore her relics.
Though never canonized, she has always
been regarded in her own country as a
saint, and as one of the patrons of
Bohemia. She is considered the founder
of the Franciscans in Bohemia, as well
as of the Clarissans. She founded,
with her brother the king, the monastery
and hospital of the Holy Spirit, near the
bridge at Prague, and gave it to the
Crucifers of the Ked Star, to be the
residence of the master of the order in
that province. She also built the con
vents of Tissnowa and Woslowana, in
.Moravia, and that of St. Francis at
Prague. She saw people's thoughts, and
knew events which were happening at
:i distance. When her nephew, Premysl
Ottokar II., was killed in the battle of
Laa, Aug. :_'»',, 127S, at the moment when
he fell dead, she had ;i mental picture of
the occurrence, and besought her sister
nuns to pray with her for his soul.
J.l.XS. Boll., March G. Chauowski,
J»"li, „•!<! /</'". Wadding. I'alacky. <> -

tchichi i'"it Bohmen. Johftno Nep.
Jeutsch, I>n: St'li'j'- A'jii'* ton Jasmin.
Minuus, DC Helms Ijoliairicis. Cahier.

B. AGXES

Jentsch gives a German translation of
four letters from St. Clara to Agnes of
Bohemia. The first runs thus —

" Clara, the unworthy servant of Jesus
Christ, and the sisters of the convent of
St. Damian, send their holy greeting to
the high-horn and honoured Agnes,
daughter of the mighty and invincible
king of Bohemia, and wish her, with
all respect and ardour, the glory of
eternal blessedness.

"The knowledge of your virtues
which has spread over most of the earth
has come also to our ears in Italy, 0
noble princess, and we rejoice over it
much in the Lord, I and all those who
do the will of God and try to serve our
Lord Jesus Christ faithfully. It is,
then, true that you have trodden under
foot the most envied magnificence of the
world, the greatest honours, and the
throne of the most noble Emperor whom
you might have married as befitted your
royal station and his ; that you have
embraced holy poverty with your whole
soul, and desire the mortification of the
flesh, and the humble position of our
Saviour, whom you have chosen for ever
for your inheritance. Trust ! He with
His grace will always preserve the costly
treasure of your purity. His power ex
ceeds all other power. He is more lov
able than aught else. His beauty puts
all else that is beautiful in the shade.
His love satisfies all desires and counter
balances all burdens." And so on.

Saint Clara, in a second letter to Agnes,
says among other things —

" Thanks, thanks eternally to the
Author of all good, the Spring of all
perfection and of all heavenly gifts, for
the many virtues with which He has
adorned your soul. It is He who
sanctifies you, and who has raised you
to that state of perfection that His eyes
can see in you nothing that can give
Him pain. Happy are you, for this
holiness will cause Him to bid you share
with Him the eternal joy in Paradise
where lie sits upon His star-built throne.
What you now have, keep ; what you do,
continue doing ; and never rest in the
spiritual race which you have under
taken. Try without ceasing to attain
that perfectness to which the Spirit of

God has called you, so that you may
always fulfil your vows to the Almighty,
and that you may obey more faithfully
the commands of the Lord."

St. Agnes (22) Blanbakin or
Blannbekin. "fUJlo. A Beguine in
Austria, who had extraordinary revela
tions or delusions, net fit for publication.
Potthast says her Life, is a very rare book,
because her visions were not considered
edifying, and it was forbidden to be read
or sold. Mas Latrie, Trcsor.

St. Agnes (23) of Montepulciano,
April 28, Y. Abbess. O.S.F., O.S.A.,
O.S.D. 1208-1317. Represented (1)
holding the Infant Christ in her arms, in
remembrance of a legend that He gave-
her a little cross from His neck ; (2)
lifting up her foot after death for ST.
CATHEKINE OF SIEXA to kiss ; (3) in an
open tomb, with sick persons praying
around. Daughter of Lorenzo de Segni.
Born at the village of Graciano Vecchio,
near the town of Montepulciauo, in
Tuscany. Lorenzo and his wife would
have preferred to remain in their village,
had it not been for Agncs's great wish to-
join a society of religious women, and
attend the services of the Church. At
the age of nine it seemed to her a siu
to put off following her vocation, as she
believed God had decreed that as th0
one path by which she might be saved.
Her parents were willing to let her
become a nun, but wished to defer her
separation from them. They were, how
ever much impressed by an accident
which befell her, and yielded to her wish
to retire at once from the world. The
first nuns she joined followed the rule
of St. Francis, and were called " Sisters
of the Sack," in derisive allusion to thei?
coarse clothing. In this nunnery Agnes
had raptures and ecstasies in which
Christ, the Virgin Mary, and angels,
appeared to her. It was even said that,
to satisfy her longing to visit the Holy
Laud, an angel brought her a clod of
earth from the foot of the cross of Christ,,
marked with drops of blood ; and that
showers of manna fell upon her whilo
she prayed.

The inhabitants of Proceno, near
Orvieto, hearing of the sanctity of the
sisters of Montepulciano, begged that

U. AGNES

37

some of them might bo sent to dwell in
their midst. Agnes was one of tlio
number, and was soon made superior of
a new monastery of the Order of St.
Augustine, which the Proceueso built
when the number of their nuns had con
siderably increased. After some years
she returned to Montepulciano, and built
a new church and monastery, in which she
established the rule of St. Dominic. Sho
made a pilgrimage to Rome, where
she obtained relics of SS. Peter and Paul.
She died at Montepulciano, in her
41'th year. The family to which she
belonged afterwards became one of the
most considerable in Moutepulciano, but
is now extinct. From the day of her
death, in 11317, the people styled her
M S;dnt." Her worship was encouraged
by several Popes, and her name inserted
in the Ronmu Marlyrology with the title
of "Saint," but she was not formally
canonized until the time of Benedict
XIII., 172»i. Thuribius, archbishop of
Siona, and Jamus de la Marchu were
canonized at the same time, and are
sometimes represented with her on that
account. It is said that her body was
embalmed by supernatural means, imme
diately after her death, and that when she
Lad been dead fifty years, she opened
her eyes and smiled on the Emperor
Charles IV., who ever afterwards had a
special devotion to this saint.

Of all the Saints Agnes, here or else
where enumerated, this and the great
ST. AGNKS (2) are the only two in the
liommt Martyroloijy, besides ST. AGNES
OF ASSISI, who is mentioned in the
Franciscan part of the Appendix to the
-R.JJT. Modern Saints, sanctioned by the
Fathers of the Oratory, from an Italian
Bio(jr<i±>luj, published at Siena, 177'.'.
Cahier. Butler. Baillct.

B. Agnes ('24) of Uavaria, Nov. 11.
"f 1 -\'i'2. Daughter of Louis, duke of
Bavaria, after wards emperor of Germany.
Agnes was brought up in a Clarissan
monastery at Munich. \Vhen her parents
thought her old enough to appear at
<jourt, they sent for her ; but so great
was her fear of the BIKUVS of the world
that she threw herself d-.jwn before the
tabernacle, and iirmly embraced the
pedestal of it, crying out, " Divine Jesus,

let me never be separated from Thee."
Her prayer was heard ; she suddenly
fell ill and died. Commemorated by the
Franciscan nuns of Munich. Guerin.

B. Agnes (25) of Siena, V. O.S.D.
Supposed to have died about 1390. Nun
in the convent of Montcregio at Siena.
Miracles are attributed to her. Pio,
Uomini c donnc.

B. Agnes (2»>) Benincasa, 3rd
O.S.D. 14th century. Sister of James
Benincasa, who was father of ST.
CATHERINE (3) of Siena. Agnes married
Chole di Dnccio. After his death
she joined the Sisters of Penance,
then called Mantellate. Her portrait is
painted in the dormitory of the convent
of St. Dominic at Siena, inscribed with
the words, " Beata Agneso Benincasa."
Mrs. Draue, Life of St. Catherine of
Siena, 1880.

St. Agnes (27) of Mon^ada, Jan. 21,
V. 1 4th century. Inspired with a love
of celibacy and seclusion by the preach
ing of St. Vincent Ferrer, at Valencia.
Her parents insisted on her marrying ;
so, disguised as a man, she fled and
concealed herself, for twenty years, in a
cave near the Carthusian convent called
Porta-ccoli, the place of her retreat being
known only to the dwellers in heaven.
After her death her sanctity was attested
by miracles. Bollaudus did not know
of any authority for her worship. Jan.
2 1 was assigned to her as the day of her
great patroness, ST. AGNES (2). St.
Vincent Ferrer died in 1419 ; he was a
Dominican monk at Valencia ; a preacher
famous all over Europe ; and was sent
for to England by Henry IV.

B. Agnes (28) of Ferro or Terro,
June 13 or 15. 15th century. Widow.
Third O.S.F. Belonged both by birth
and marriage to very illustrious families
of Aragon. She was an attendant on the
queen of Aragon, mother of Ferdinand
the Catholic. Weary of court life, sho
retired from the world, gave her money
to the poor, took the name of MAIIY OP
JESUS, and became a nun of the Third
Order of St. Francis, at Ulmet, in the
diocese of Avila. She is mentioned in
the Ordemlmlendt'.i', in Burns' (_'///»•//»/</>•
<>f the Frtim-isnni Onlo; and in MonHtier's

38

B. AGXES

Gynecseum ; but there is no office in
her honour, nor does her name appear
in the martyrologies of the great
authorities.

B. Agnes (29) or INEZ DE SKNNA,
Nov. S. 7*1498. O.S.D. Nun. A pattern
of goodness, and graced with miraculous
powers. Manoel do Lima, Agiologio
Dominico, iv. 339, on the authority of
Bzovius.

B. Agnes (30) of the Pescara, Nov.
12. •)" 1588. One of the Margaritole, i.e.
nuns of the convent of ST. AGNES, at
Foligno, popularly called the Margari-
tura, from its superior, B. MARGAHET OP
FOLIGNO. La Pescara was a villa in the
neighbourhood of Foligno. Agnes was
an example of every virtue. The nuns
and other persons who were present at
her burial saw a great company of pil
grims come to venerate her, singing with
angelic voices. The service ended, they
disappeared. The Bollandists promise
her story on her day. Jacobilli, Santi
da Folifjno.

B. Agnes (31) of Japan, Sept. 10.
•J-1622. Wife of B. Cosmo Taquea,
or Takeya; he was a Corean, brought,
at the age of 11, prisoner to Japan,
where he served a great man for a long
time, and had a house and a piece of
ground given him. He used all his
property to help the missionaries, es
pecially the Fathers Angelo Orsucci and
John of St. Dominic, whom ho enter
tained on their arrival from Manilla,
and to whom he taught the language
and letters of the Japanese. Pie was
burnt for the faith, Nov. 18, 1619, at
Nagasaki. Agnes survived him three
years, and was martyred at the age of
42, on the same day as LUCY FREITAS
(q-v.). Cosmo and Agnes are among the
2<>"> martyrs beatified with Lucy. Their
son, Francis, aged 1 2, was put to death
the next day.

St. or Ven. Agnes (32) of Langeac,
Oct. 19. Called AGNES OF JESUS. 1602-
1634. O.S.D. Twice superior of her
convent at Langeac, in France. Among
other miraculous events recorded, it is
said that she died and came to life again
several times. The process of her
canonization was begun in 1098, and
Louis XIV. himself wrote to Clement

XL on the subject. The process was
frequently interrupted and resumed,
until 1808, when Pius VII. declared her
heroic virtue proven. AA.SS. Boll.
Prseter. Les Mystiques. She is called
in Guerin's Catalogue, Saint Agnes of
Jesus. Her Life was written by Do
Lantages, who tells that she consecrated
herself as a servant to the BLESSED VIR
GIN MARY, and wore an iron chain in
token of servitude.

Ven. Agnes (33), Tsau Kong, Feb.
2S, <•. i860. First woman M. in China.

St. Agrata, or GRATA. One of the
martyrs of Lyons, beheaded, being a
Roman citizen, instead of being killed
by the beasts of the amphitheatre. Tille-
mont. See BLANDIXA.

St. Agrifa, or AGRIPPA, May 13, M.
at Alexandria. Boll., AA.SS.

St. Agrippina (1), June 23, V. M. at
Rome, under Valerian (253-260). Called
AGUAPHENA in the Russian calendar.
Represented bound to the equuleus and
scourged. Immediately after her martyr
dom her body was taken secretly by SS.
BASSA, PAULA (3), and AGATHONICA, who
went carefully from place to place until
at last they got to Sicily, and there they
buried her. Every one who treated her
church or relics with disrespect was
struck with disease or death, and every
one who applies to her to be cleansed of
leprosy obtains his prayer to this day.
JUI. Boll., AA.SS., from a Greek
Menea.

St. Agrippina (2), M. with LAURI-

ANA.

Ahemeri. The Ahcmcri are those
saints that havo no particular day : such
are CRESCENTIA, FABIOLA, RADIANA.
Bullet.

St. Aiala, May 8 (SCIALA, STIALA).
303. One of many martyrs com
memorated with, and supposed to have
been converted by the example and
teaching of, St. Acacius or Agathius.
See AGATHA (2).

St. Ailbert, Aug. 10, 11, 12 f AGIL-
BERTA, AGUILIJERT). c. 680. Of the
royal blood of France. Daughter of
Abobinus and Pientia, and sister of St.
Ebresilius, or Ebregesilus, bishop of
Meaux. Succeeded her cousin TIIEODE-
CHILD as second abbess of Jouarre, in

ST. ALDKc.rxnis

41

blind, ami Kit alone in darkness all clay."
The shepherd was so sorry for her, that,
notwithstanding his fciir of the horse, he
went and called it, and it came as meekly
as the best-trained and gentlest horse
that ever lived; it allowed the blind
girl to mount, and she followed her
father to the church of St. John. On
reaching the gate, while praying, with
her hands and face raised to heaven, oil
dropped from on high into her eyes, and
she was cured of her blindness. When
Basin came and found that his daughter
could see, he took her to the gate of the
church of St. Peter. There she again
became blind ; but her father led her
into the church, prayed for her, and
vowed to St. Peter all his worldly posses
sions. Her sight was immediately re
stored. Then all the people shouted
and praised God for this miracle, and
Aldeguudis offered herself at the altar.
The church that Basin built was at
Dronghen, on the Lisa, a mile from
Ghent ; he and his daughter Aldeguudis
are buried there. Henschenius, in
AA.SS. ; Cuper, in the same collection,
July 14. \Vion, Lignum Vitse. Baillet,
Fiet,

St. Aldegundis (2), Jan. 3<>, May 11,
Oct. is, Nov. i:i, June 6, May 2(1 (ALDE-
CONDE, OHGONM: . c. »;.'JO-680. Born at
Courtsore, Coursolre, or Consobre.
Patron of Maubeuge and Emmerich ; and
against cancer and pains in the chest, or
breast. Founder and abbess of Mau-
bcnge. Represented (1) walking on
water, led by an angel ; (2) crossing the
river Sambre dry-shod ; ( :> ) with St. Hum
bert of Maroilles bringing a fountain of
water out of the earth for her, and a
dove holding a veil over her ; in Callot's
ImtitjM, she appears flying from her
father's house. According to Guette,
there is an ancient picture of her, wear
ing the veil of a virgin, a violet cloak
embroidered with flowers, and a red
gown with a white tunic. This is the
dress, not of a nun, but of a canoness ;
she was not, however, a cauoness,
although her monastery was, in later
times, made over to canonesses, and the
picture was probably painted aft« r that.

Daughter of SS. Walbcrtand BKUI n.i \.
Younger sister of ST. WAI.TKUM:. Her

father was a near relation of King Clo-
tlmirc II. While very young, Alde
gundis resolved on a religious life, and
when her parents talked to her of
marriage, she said, " Find me a husband
whose estates are heaven and earth and
the sea ; whose riches are for ever in
creasing, never diminishing ; only such
a one will I marry." Soon after this
she went to Haumout, and there received
the religious veil from St. Amandus,
bishop of Maestricht, and St. Aubert,
bishop of Cambrai. She walked dry-
shod over the Sambre, and built on its
banks a small nunnery, at a desert place
called Malbode. The town of Mauberge
grew up round her nunnery, which, in
course of time, developed into the great
and famous Benedictine monastery of
Maubeuge ; centuries afterwards it be
came a house of regular canonesses.
Aldegundis presided there, with great
wisdom and sanctity, for many years ;
and eventually she died of cancer in the
breast, about <>80, and was succeeded by
her niece, ST. ADELTHUDE (1). Alde
gundis is commemorated with a double
office. The following story is told of
her in the Golden Legend : —

Before she had taken the veil, while
on a visit to her elder sister, ST. WAL-
TRUDE, abbess of Mons, ST. BERTILIA
came to see her daughters, and brought
Aldegundis a piece of linen, which she
told her to make into shirts, sheets, and
kerchiefs for her future husband. Alde
guudis, thinking that would be Christ,
made the linen into chrisms, which were
caps of a particular sort, worn by chil
dren when they were christened. She
used her utmost skill in adorning them
with the finest needlework, and brought
them to her mother, who, seeing her
linen put to a use which she never in
tended, was very angry, and took a stick
to beat her daughter. Aldoguudis fled,
and hid herself in the forest of Mau
beuge. The nobleman to whom her
parents intended to marry her sought
her diligently in the forest, but could not
find her. She remained there until after
the death of her mother, when she took
the veil, and built the convent of Mau
beuge. Sr\vral miracles are recorded
of her : one was that while she and her

42

• ST. ALEXA

sister were talking about their Divine
Master, the candle went out. Alcle-
gundis picked it up, and it lighted itself
again as she took it in her hand.

Her festival, Jan. ,'ju, is very ancient,
being mentioned in calendars of the
time of Louis le Debonnaire. The other
days on which her name occurs in
calendars are probably the days of trans
lations of her relics, or of the dedications
of churches or chapels in her name.

Her Life was written by a contempo
rary, but the original is lost. The
oldest extant is preserved in the AA.SS.,
written by monks, who founded their
stories on the original Life, and added to
it from local traditions, etc. Baillet, Vie*.
Butler, Lives. Nouvelle Biog. generale,
edited by Hoefer. Paris, 1855. Cahier.
Husenbeth, Emblems. Die Attnbufc.
Golden Legend. Guette, Hist, de VEylixe
de France.

St. Alena, or HALENA, June 17, V.
M. c. G-iO. Patron of Foret, or Vorst,
near Brussels; and against diseases of
the eye. Eeprescuted with only one
arm, and with a crown on her head, or
beside her. Daughter of a heathen
prince, or king, whose name was Levold.
Her mother's name was Hildegard. Le
vold persecuted the Christians; but
they were secured from his attacks by
dense forests and by inundations. One
day the king, while hunting in the forest,
met a Christian. Surprised to find him
in that lonely place, he asked whether
he were one of his subjects, or who was
his master. The man answered, " I am
one of the servants of Christ. If you
wish to learn our laws and customs, and
to know who our Master is, stay with
mo this night. To-morrow you shall
see us offer our sacrifice to God our
Father, and then you will know the
difference between truth and falsehood."
The king consented. The Christian
received him very hospitably, and treated
him with all the honour duo to his rank.
Next morning he was present at the
celebration of Mass ; but his hard heart
preferred his own foolish heathen re
ligion. When he returned home, he
told his wife and daughter what he had
heard, at the same time blaspheming
and ridiculing the Christian religion.

Alena, however, was inspired by God
with so great a wish to see the Christian
service, that, notwithstanding her natural
timidity, braving the wild beasts and
other dangers of the forest, she went by
night to their place of meeting. One
night, on her way to the chapel, she was
taken by a watchman, but begged and
bribed him to let her pass and to keep
her secret. He acceded to her wish for
the time ; but, seeing that she went out
every night, he at last told her father.
The king told him to follow her closely,
and see where she went. The watch
man reported that he had followed her
to the river ; but as she crossed over
miraculously, without bridge or boat, he
could follow no further. The king said
it must be by means of the magic arts of
the Christians, and he stationed some
soldiers on the bank of the river to bring
her to him alive, that he might take
vengeance on her for going over to the
new superstition. The soldiers arrested
her, and as she resisted, they pulled her
violently by the arm, and dragged it off.
She then fell down dead. The angel
of God took her arm, and put it on the
altar of the chapel where she used to-
pray so devoutly. The priest, finding a
bleeding arm there, said, "Perhaps this
is the arm of the virgin Alena, who has
been devoured by some evil beast." He
then went to seek her, found her body,
and buried it in the chapel, which was
afterwards enlarged, and called by her
name. It soon began to be reported
that miraculous cures were performed
at her tomb. Omund, a prince of the
neighbourhood, who was blind, came to
Levold, and said, " I hear all kinds of
infirmities are cured at your daughter's
grave ; therefore take me to it, that I may
recover my sight." Levold, who had
until then considered the miracles of
his daughter a mere idle report, accom
panied him to Alena's tomb, where his
sight was restored. Both were con
verted, as also was Queen Hildegard.
Levold publicly confessed that he was
the murderer, did penance at the grave,
and was baptized by the name of Harold.
He and his queen, after many good
works, died piously, and were buried iu
the church they had built in honour of

B. ALEXAXDRINA DI LETTO

43

St. Ambrose. Several miracles are re
corded of St. Alona during her lifetime.
Once, when she went as usual to the
forest chapel by night, she found the
door shut, and sat down on the ground.
The priest's servant happened to como
past, and thought her a ghost, not sup
posing any woman could bo there at
that time of night. She told him not to
be afraid, as she was only waiting for
the morning prayers. {i You need not
wait," said he, "for the priest is very
ill, and cannot come into the chapel."
" Go," said the holy maiden, " tell your
master to arise and go into the chapel
and say the office ; for God, who has led
me hither, is able to cure him." The
servant returned to his master and gave
Aleua's message, and the priest rose up,
restored to health, and chanted Matins
as usual. Alena planted her staff in the
ground and left it there while she went
to prayers. \Vhen she came out of
church, she found that it was growing,
and had brought forth leaves. It grew
tin TO for many years, and the nuts it
bore used to be made into rosaries in
the 1 7th century ; which proves the truth
of tlio whole- story. I toll., AA.SS.

St. Alexandra (l), April 21, M.
•'ii>_>. Empress. Wife of Diocletian.
Converted by seeing the tortures and
bravery and the miracles of St. George.
Condemned to bo beheaded with him ;
but died in prison on hearing her sen-
It 'lice. M. iiufiHfii of Btixil, April 21.
1-11., AA.SS., April 2". This story is
not confirmed by secular history. This
is the same saint who is called in Roman
tradition SI:UI:.\A.

St. Alexandra (2), M. with ST.

TH :. rs\.

St. Alexandra (:;;, March 20, M.
Early in Hh century. When the Chris
tians were persecuted at Amisus, in
Paphlagonia, in the reign of Maximian,
Alexandra and six other holy women
CLAUDIA, EUPHRASIA, JULIANA, MATUONA
or PATUONA, EUPIIEMIA, and THKODOBIA
(7) — boldly declared their allegiance to
the proscribed religion, and reproached
the governor as cruel, unjust, and tlio
enemy of the Truth. They were stripped,
ln::itcu with iron rods, their br< I
cut oil', and they were then hung up l>y

the feet over a slow fire until they died.
Their martyrdom was followed by that
of DEIIPHUTA and her sister. Several of
the names of these seven women are tho
same as those of seven women martyred
at Ancyra. See Tuners A. It.M. Boll.,
AA.SS. Jii'uf. Il-cl'xiiisti'fii.
Jst. Alexandra < l >, V. 4th century.
A young woman of great beauty, who
determined to lead a celibate ascetic life.
Finding that she was much loved by a
young man, she was afraid she was
causing him to sin, so she shut herself
up in a tomb, and there she spent all
her time in prayer and meditation, ex
cepting only one hour a day, which R!IO
devoted to spinning. ST. MELANIA i 1
visited Alexandra, but could not see her
face ; she stood near the orifice that
served as a window to her cell, and
had an edifying conversation with her.
After twelve years' residence in this
living grave, Alexandra was one morning
found dead by the woman who used to
bring her the necessaries of life. Si/h-"
anaclioretlca ex Palladia Lmtsiaca.

St. Alexandria, or ALEXANDER, Feb.
28, M. Mentioned in a long list of
martyrs who suffered for the Christian
faith at Alexandria, and who are com
memorated in the old martyrologies.
Hcnschenius, in A A. SH.

B. Alexandrina di Letto, April
.'J (ALESSANDKA, ALESSANDRINA). i:is.~i—
t458. O.S.F. One of a family of saints.
Daughter of Nicola Raynaldo di Letto,
a nobleman of Sulniona ; ho was royal
vicar in Rome in 1:517, for Ilobert, king
of Naples, and lord of the towns of
Letto and Torre, in the Abruzzi. So
says Jacobilli, but a comparison of his
dates makes it seem more likely that
this Nicola was her grandfather. Alex
andrina was born at Sulmona. At the
ago of i:> she took the veil there, in
the Franciscan monastery of ST. CLARA,
whore she lived twenty-throe years. Her
cousin, B. MARGARET, who attained to-
great sanctity, followed her example.
and became a nun in the same house.
They had two other cousins, Clara and
Lisa, and an aunt ({EMMA, who was tho
mother of Clara. These three wero
nuns in another monastery of tho Ord«-r
of St. Augustine, in Sulmoua. Discords

ALGASACH

arose in Sulmona, which led to the ban
ishment of these five nuns and of the
brother of one of them. They fled to
Aquila, and remained there two years,
praying assiduously to be guided where
they should serve God. At last an
angel revealed to Alexandriua that they
were to go to Foligno, and there build
a monastery which should be a temple
of God until the end of the world.
They obeyed the angel, and, arriving at
Foligno on July U>, 142.5, presented
themselves to Monsignor Giacomo Elmi,
the bishop, and to Corrado Trinci, lord
of Foligno, and declared their intention.
In three days these potentates gave them
a site, and there they built a church and
convent, which they dedicated to God
in the name of ST. LUCY, V. M. The
five nuns made public profession of the
Order of St. Clara, and, like the fathers
of the desert, lived devoutly without any
ruler but the bishop. In 1439 Pope
Martin V. placed them under the care
of the fathers of the convent of St. Bar
tholomew of Foligno, of that branch of
the Franciscans surnamed the Zocco-
lanti. The nuns soon became so re
nowned for holiness that many virgins
of noble families came to join them,
from all the towns and places round,
and many miracles were wrought through
their prayers. This was the first mon
astery to adopt the reform of the Order
of St. Clara, and all the others through
out Italy imitated it. Alexaudrina was
unanimously elected first abbess, and on
two subsequent occasions was re-elected.
Her confessor ordered her to write a
book describing the foundation of the
monastery, and the lives of many perfect
nuns who flourished there in her time.
For the sake of obedience she acceded
to his wish, although at the time laden
with years and broken down by penances
and fatigues. She died April .'», 145S,
at the ago of 73. The most notable
miracle recorded in her life is that the
sisters having dug a well, were much
distressed to see no sign of water.
Alexandrina prayed with tears and faith,
and lo, the well was suddenly full of
water to the very brim. They touched
the water with their hands, and gave
thanks. But it was not customary to

have the water of a well quite on a level
with the ground, so Alexandrina blessed
the water, and commanded it to sink to
a convenient level. This it instantly
did, and ever after supplied the com
munity with abundance of good water.
Jacobilli, Saints of tlte Family of Lctto ;
Saints of Unibria ; Saints of Foligno ;
and BibUoiheca Umbrise.

Algasach means DESIDEROSA, and
was a surname of one of the SS.LASsAi: A,
March 21*. Oth century.

St. Alfreda, Aug. 2 (ALFRIDA, ETHEL-
DRITHA). 834. Daughter of Offa, king
of the Mercians, one of the most powerful
of the Saxon kings, and conqueror of
several of his contemporaries ; he held
his court at Suttou Wall-is, in Hereford
shire. His wife was Quendreda. In
7!»3 Alfreda was betrothed to Ethelbert,
or F.gclbrit, king of the East Angles.
Quendreda had him murdered in the
interest of her brother Egfrid, who was
innocent of any participation in the
crime. The murdered Ethelbert was
buried secretly at Marden. A pillar of
light appeared at night over the spot,
and revealed the grave. His body was
translated into the church at Hereford.
Tortured by remorso, the queen had fits
of fury and terror. She died miserably
three months after her crime. Alfreda
fled to the monastery of St. Guthlac, at
Croyland, and became a recluse there,
being built up in a cell in the south part
of the church opposite the high altar ;
she lived there for forty years, and died
about 834. Britannia Sancta, from Cap-
grave and Harpsfeld. Butler, L/ms-.
Bosch, in AA.SS. Boll. Mabillou,
AA.SS., O.S.B. Srec. iv. i. 565. New
man, Calendar «f Enyltxh Saint*, in
Apologia. William of Malmesbury, ll<'-
t/iiiii AiKjl. i. 4. Wioii, Li'juuiit 1 '//;*•,
p. 52:;. '

Ven. Alfrida, Doc. 8 and first Sunday
in July. M. c. 81i>. The servants of
God, Alfrida, SABI.VA, and EDITH, VV.
MM., daughters of Kenulf, king of
Mercia, like many English ladies of
their time, set oft' to make the pilgrimage
to Rome. Crossing the sea, they landed
at Mardick ; thence they went to Cassel,
M'here they were entertained for some
%lays in a monastery. Scarcely had they

VEX. OR B. ALIX LE CLERC

started to pursue their journey, than
they were killed in a forest by assassins,
sent after them by the great lords in
England, to whom they had been pro
mised, and whom they had thrown over.
When the bodies were found, an old
blind gentleman put his hand into the
blood of these martyrs, and, next time
In- happened to rub his eyes with it, ho
immediately recovered his sight.' As a
thank-ottering to God, he had them
honourably buried, and built a chapel
them, widely celebrated to this day
for the cures and other answers to
prayer obtained through the intercession
nf the three virgins. Pilgrims flocked
thither from all parts of Flanders, and
in time the village of Caestre grew up
annuid the famous Chapcllc dcs Trot*
r,V, •;/'*. P.B., quoting the Abbe Des-
tonibes, Saiiik'8 des dioceses de Cambrai
,t tTArrtu.

St. Algiva, June :J<) (^LGISA,
ELGIN). Probably the same as ELGIVA,
Oct. It).

St. Alice Rich, Aug. 24. c. 127<>.
Prioress of Catesby. Sister of St. Ed-
muiul, archbishop of Canterbury, and of
B. MAUGAUET RICH. They were the
children of Reynold and Matilda or
Mabel Rich, tradespeople at Abingdon,
in Berkshire, where the locality of their
abode is still called St. Edmund's Lane.
Mabilia practised the austerities of a
nun, while living in the world and
educating her children piously. When
Reynold, having settled his attaint, com
mitted his children to the care of Mabilia
and l>ccame a monk at Evesham or
Knshuiii, he found the life of the cloister
easy compared with that of his home.
Mabilia, who always wore a hair shirt,
and always grudged food or comfort to
her<rlf or any one else, was glad when
her husband's departure left her free to
increase her own and her children's
austerities. After Edmund had been at
nt Oxford for some time, during
ii lie married himself to tho Virgin
v, she sent him and his brother to
1'aii- to finish their education. To
:i them humility, she made them
In-g their way thither like the poorest
:its, although she ronld have j.ai I
expends. She gave them a hair

shirt at parting, and whenever she sent
them clothes or other necessaries, she
always accompanied the gift with that
of some new instrument of penance.
Falling ill and not expecting to recover,
she sent for St. Edmund, and commended
his brother and sisters to his care. Both
of the latter wished to become nuns, so
Mabilia left money sufficient to purchase
entrance into a respectable, if not aris
tocratic, monastery. Many parents at
that time paid large sums to secure to
their daughters a place amongst asso
ciates of their own class, and a certain
degree of comfort. Edmund, however,
regarded this purchase system as siino-
niacal, and looked about for.a nunnery
where holiness was carried to the greatest
attainable perfection, and where the
piety of the young women would be of
more account than their small dowry.
After long search and waiting, ho placed
his sisters in the poor Benedictine house
of Catesby, between Banbury and Daven-
try, and not far from Eydon, in North
amptonshire. The prioress had heard
of tho sanctity of Mabilia and the
scruples of Edmund, and gladly wel
comed Alice and Margaret as daughters
of her house. Hero they both attained
a great degree of holiness, and were
successively prioresses.

St. Edmund was appointed 45th arch
bishop of Canterbury by Gregory IX.
He afterwards became a Cistercian monk
at Pontigny, in Champagne. lie died
at Soissy, 1242, and was canonized by
Innocent IV. four years later. Alice
died about 1270, and miracles were
wrought at her tomb.

Matt. Paris, Hist. Major, ad Ann. 1257.'
Ferrarius, Novo Cat. Hook, ArchbisJn'/,^
of Canterbury. The Bollandists, AA.^ v
Aug. 24, place her name among the
Praetermissi, saying that her worship is
not generally authorized, although
Wilson calls her "Saint" in both his-
cditions of tho English Martyroloyy.

St. Alikia. APPHIA, wife of Phile
mon, is so called in tho Coptic calendar.
AA.SS.

St. Alimena, Aug. 22, V. Gucrin.

Yen. or B. Alix le Clerc, Jan. 9.
First regular canoness of tho Congrega
tion of our Lady, or Ladies of tho

40

B. £LIZ LA BOURGOTTE

Congregation of Mary. Commonly called
founder of that order, although it was
actually instituted by Fourier, a Jesuit
father. P>orn of a noble family at
Hemiremont, in Lorraine, in l.">76; died
Jan. 9, 1622. In her youth she was
fond of dancing and of worldly amuse
ments. Being at a country place called
Hymont, near Mataincourt, on three
successive Sundays, while she was
attending Mass, her thoughts were dis
tracted by the sound of a drum. The
third time, giving her whole attention
to the sound, she was absorbed in a vision,
and saw the devil beating the drum, and
followed by a number of gay young
people. She forthwith resolved not to
be one of them, adopted the white veil
of the peasant girls of the place, and
took a vow of celibacy, which greatly
alarmed her parents, and scandalized
the inhabitants of Mataincourt, where
piety was not in fashion. She placed
herself under the direction of Father
Fourier, curate of Mataincourt, and
afterwards became superior of a house
of canonesses under his direction.
While building the first monastery at
Xancy, in 161."), Alix wont to Paris, to the
Ursulines of the Faubourg S. Jacques,
to learn their method of combining their
cloturc with the instruction of little day
scholars. She worked as a novice there
for two months. The regulations of the
new order were finished some years
later. Meantime the nuns had several
houses before they obtained permission
to make them into monasteries. At
length, all difficulties being overcome,
and their novitiate finished, Alix and
her companions took the solemn monastic
vows in 1618 ; after which she redoubled
her austerities, and thereby shortened
her life. She was honoured as a saint
immediately after her death, and many
persons invoked her intercession with
success. Helyot, ///*/. dcs Ordrcs Mo-
nastiqucs, ii. chap. 64.

B. Aliz la Bourgotte, June 2<»
(ALKTIFA. AI.KXIA, ALKZA, ALIX, ALOYSI \).
I-l».)G. U.S.A. In the hospital of St.
Catherine at Paris, in 1328, there were
brothers and sisters hospitallers who
served the poor ; their duties were to
receive for three days any poor women

or girls who came to Paris, and to bury
prisoners, who died in the Chastelet or
Fort PKvosque, and persons found
assassinated in the streets or drowned
in the river. They had the right to
bury, in the cemetery of the Holy
Innocents, the poor who died in their
house. In course of time, only sisters
remained in the hospital, and in 1">.">8,
as there were no brothers, a secular
priest, appointed by the archbishop of
Paris, was the superior of the sisters.
In this hospital, early in the 15th
century, a holy maid, Sister Alix, or
Aliz la liourgotte, lived for some years
in the service of the poor. P>y-and-by,
desiring to lead a more retired life and
have no intercourse with her fellow-
creatures, she was shut up in a room
at the top of the house to try isolation
for a year ; after which she went to the
cemetery of the Holy Innocents, and was
walled up in a cell adjoining the church ;
she had a window, through which she
could hear Mass and services. Here she
lived for forty-six years, with so much
holiness that at her death, in 1466, Louis
XI. raised a bronze tomb to her memory,
with a rhymed epitaph, in which she
was called "Sceur Aliz la P>ourgotte."
Helyot, Ordrcs Monattiqttes, ii. 2!»4, says
she was of the Order of St. Augustine.
The Ordcnslccdendar of the Franciscans
claims her as a member of their third
order, and calls her Aloysia Pmrgotta.
She is called, in the appendix to Saussaye,
Mart. Gallicanum, P>. Aletha, recluse at
Paris. The 1 Jollandists say that although
she is claimed by both these orders, she
has no worship and no proper day.

St. Alkalda, March 2S, Oct. 27
( ALKELD, ALKILDA), a Saxon virgin, mar
tyred by Danes. Eepresentcd in a
window of the old church of Middleharn,
in Yorkshire, being strangled by two
women. So little is known of her, that
some archaeologists suppose there was no
saint of this name, which means a foun
tain. St. Alkeld's Well is still believed
to have healing virtues. Her church, at
Giggles wick, in Yorkshire, was founded
in the 1 2th century. Parker, Calendar.
Arnold Forster, Dcd'tcnt'tun*.

St. Alia, or ABBA, May 7, M. in
Africa. AA.SS.

B. ALPAlS

17

St. Alias, or II.M.AS. See ANNA (7)
the (loth.

St. Alma, probably the II. V. MAUY,
Alma Muter.

St. Almerida, May 2.:, M. in Africa.
AAJ38.

St. Almheda, Aug. 1 (AI.MKI-UA,
AI.MKDIS, ALED, ELINED, possibly KI.I:-
VI:TT\, KI.I.VN, Enw.\, ELLYW). Second
half of tliu "»th century. Aunt or sister
of St. Kryiir. Daughter of Bragan or
I'.ryehan. who is also called Fugatius,
and in llrittany Fagan and Frachan, a
T.ritisli prince who gave his name to the
province of Brecknock; a holy man, happy
in a numerous pious family. Tradition
says ho had three wives, twenty-four sons,
and twenty-five or twenty- six daughters.
He brought them all up with a view to
their spreading the Christian religion
among the Cymri. Some of them were
saints, and churches have been dedicated
in their names. Many of these so-called
•eons and daughters were, in all pro
bability, grandchildren. Kice Kees gives
a complete list of them. All appear to
be reputed saints ; but with some this

not certain. Of the daughters —

Mi:< HELL, the eldest, married Gyyr.
wi;<;o\, married Cadrod Calchfynydd,

Ki.i:i:r, married Ceretlig ab Cunedda,
and was paternal grandmother of St.
David.

\i:i VDD, wife of St. Tudwal Befr.
She founded Llannifydd, in Denbigh
shire, and had two sons, SS. Cynin and
Ifor. She is sometimes confounded with
her nephew of the same name, and is
perhaps the 'same as GOLENDDYDD, who
was a saint, and is enumerated as another

ST. IiMii:\(;.\i;. or <V\<;Ak, of Llech-in-
Maelicnydd, in Radnorshire, mother of
Synidr. '

ST. <;«)|.F.M.I.YI>K a saint, perhaps tin-
as \\:\-\ i»ii.

Si. (i\vrNiu»M»i-. or (I\v\wi;imvini, a
saint at Tywyn, in Merionethshire,
mother of Cyn^<.-n, who married on.
randdaughters of Urychan.

saint.

Br, ELINED, the AI.MI-.DIIA of (liraldus
Carnbrensis.

ClDn>RY< ii- or ('; i perhaps the

same as KKKDKCH of Llandegwyn, in
Merionethshire.

ST. CI:M:I)|.ON. a saint on the mountain
of Cymorth, probably near Newcastle, in
Emlyn.

ST. CYMOHTH, a saint at Emlyu, a dis
trict on the confines of Caermartheu and
Pembroke. Cyniorth, or Corth, was the
wife of Brynach Wyddel, an Irishman,
and had a son, Gerwyu, and three
daughters, Mwynen, Gwennau, and
Gwenlliw.

ST. CLYDAI, sister of Cymorth and
Ccnedlon, a saint.

ST. TYDFUL (sometimes confounded
with TANGLWST), martyred by a party
of Saxons and Picts at a place called
Mcrthyr Tydfyl, with her father, Bry-
chan, and one of her brothers. The son
of that brother raised the people, and
put the enemy to flight. Her day is
Aug. 21.

ST. EXFAIL, perhaps lived at Merthyr,
near Carmarthen.

HAWYSTL, lived at Cacr Hawystl, which
is supposed to be Awst, in Gloucester
shire.

ST. TYIJIK, murdered by pagans, at
Llandybie, in Carmarthenshire, Jan. 90.

KKXKYTHO.V and KKURBREIT are added
by another authority.

A church on the top of a hill, near
the castle of Aberhodui, is called after
M. Almheda, who, rejecting the alliance
of an earthly prince, espoused herself to
the Eternal King, and finished her course
by a triumphant martyrdom. Ivico llees
says her name is Elined, and that
(iiraldus says she was martyred on a
hill called Pengiuger, near Brecknock.
11,-Hniiiiiii S'uictu, from Giraldus Cam-
brcnsis. Stanton, En. Mart.

St. Alodia, M. with NUMLO (q.r.).

Aloysia (1), LOUISA.

B. Aloysia (2), ALIZ LA BOURGOTTK.

St. Aloysia (:;), Sept. 11', one of
2H.*, ^\IM. in Japan. 17th century.
li'niKnin Strwpkio Mart. J.//.3/. Per
haps same as L<M i-,\ (4).

B. Alpais ( 1 ), JSc-j). 1 7. Sth century.
Penitent. Built a monastery at Or]).
Commemorated by Jhiyssium, in his
.I'i'litiinis to the Sniiittt <>f Jifl«fium. She
is probably the mistress of 1'epin, mayor
of the palace, under Theodoric. Pepiu

48

ST. AM A

put away bis wife, ST. PLECTRUDE, mother
of his sons Grimoald and Drogo, and
took, in her stead, Alpais, a beautiful
girl, sister of a Frankish nobleman
named Dodo. St. Lambert remonstrated.
At first Pepin bore it meekly, and in
tended to recall his wife, but at the
sight of Alpais he fell again. Then
Lambert advised him to undertake a
pilgrimage to Rome. Alpais complained
to her brother that Lambert dared to
call her bad names, and to say that her
marriage was null. He knew the people
would revolt if Lambert suffered any
violence, so he tried to persuade him to
approve the marriage. Lambert refused
to give Alpais the sacrament. She
stirred up her brother and several friends.
They attacked him in the night and
murdered him, with his two nephews
and some attendants, in the church of
SS. Cosmo and Damian, near Liege, in
the reign of Childebert, son of Theo-
doric, about 7<>5. Boll., AA.SS. Prseter.,
quoting Rayssium's Additamenta. Biog.
Lifyeoise.

St. Alpais (2), Nov. 3 (ALPAYDE,
ELPIDE, AUPAIES, AUPAISE, AUPASIE), V.,
living in 1180. The Marty rology of
Salisbury, Nov. 3, says, "The feest of
saynt Alpayde, a virgyn of poore byrth,
and a keper of beestes in ye felde, yet
obtayned she of our lorde ye clere
understandynge of holy scripture and
the spirite of couseyle, wt meruaylous
prudence ; yet was she euer seke in body
and neuer hole, and lyuecl many yeres
wtout ony fode but onely the sacrament
of Chrystes body, and many tymes was
she rapte in to heuen, hell, and purgatory
as by syght in her soule and under
standynge of the joye and payne ; she
had also yc spiryte of prophecy, and was
of many miracles."

Mezeray tells the same story in his
Jlixtory of France, in describing the reign
of Philip Augustus. He also says she
lived at Cudot, in the diocese of Sens,
and that, in his time, her tomb was still
to be seen in the parish church, sur
mounted by her effigy in stone, crowned
with flowers, and the people of the
country affirmed that God sanctioned,
by numerous miracles, the devotion paid
to this saint.

Ferrarius says that she died at Ton-
nere, Nov. 2. C.V.H. in Boll., AA.SS..,
Nov. 3. Mas Latrie, Trt'tsor, says she
died 1211, and that a contemporary MS.
Life of her exists at Paris, in tho
Bibliotheque de 1'Ecole des Chartres.

1881. 2;>3.

St. Alpina, June 22, 3VI. Mart, of
Rdchenau. AA.SS., PrefcUtones, in.

St. Alruna, June 1(.». Middle or
end of llth century. Widow and nun,
O.S.B. Born Countess Chambeusiu n.
Married Macelinus. She was a mother
and protectress of the poor, and of con
vents, and was assisted in her good
works by her servants William and
Matilda. She hung her clothes on a
sunbeam. She multiplied the bread for
her poor guests. After she had had
children enough, Macelinus set her free
to devote herself to religion. Bucelinus,
Men. Ben.

St. Alumna, or DOMXA, one of the
martyrs of Lyons, who died in prison.
See BLANDINA.

St. Alvenera, Aug. 2,~> (ALVERA,
ALVERENA ; perhaps AMVERTA and ALVIRA
are the same). Supposed to have been
a virgin martyr late in the 3rd century.
Her skull is preserved at Limeil, a little
town situated where the Vezere runs
into the Dordogne, in the diocese of
Tarbes, She is mentioned in an ancient
martyrology, in an old Benedictine
monastery at Tarbes, in the Pyrenees.
AA.SS. Boll. Appendix.

St. Alverta, V. at Agen. Sister of
ST. FAITH. Perhaps same as ALVEXERA,.
whose skull is preserved, with great
veneration, at Limeil.

St. Alvira, March 0, V. Probably
the same as ELVIRA, or as ALVENERA.

Alwerda, May 22, V. f 1(>17> at
Magdeburg. Lived in great sanctity \
and had celestial visions at the time of
her death. Ditmar, Chronicle, book 7.
AA.SS. Prseter., May 22, Feb. 7.

Alwreda, May 23. Sister of IUM-
GARD. Led a holy life at Magdeburg.
Praised by Dithmar and Laherius. Pro
bably same as ALWERDA ; both mentioned
among the Prsetcrnissi, in AA.SS., Feb.
7, May 22 and 2:5.

St. Ama (1), March 28 (Ax< -A. ANTA,
AXIAS), M. at Rome. AA.SS.

B. AMATA

49

St. Ama (2), June <J, V. M. in Persia.

St. Ama (:J), TALIDA.

St. Ama (4), Sept. 24 (AMATA, AMK,
AM UK. EMM v, hi MA, YMMA). b'th century.
Honoured at Joinville. Eldest of seven
sisters. (See HOYLDA.) The name Imma,
or Ame, is common in Champagne, and
St. Ama is the patron of those so named.
Baillet, Vi<-*. Perier. AA.SS.

St. Amabilia (1), July 1 1, V. Her
bones and picture were preserved in
the convent of St. Amand, at Rouen.
Supposed to bo daughter of a king of
England. AA.SS. Appendix.

B. Amabilia (2), abbess. 12th
century. One of the native patron
saints of Bohemia, and patron especially
of the family of Swihowski or Schu
rhowski. Daughter of Wladislaus I.,
duke of Bohemia. Sister of Wladislaus
II., a religious man and happy in
having pious children ; he built the
noble monastery of Srapow on Mount
Zion. He went to Jerusalem in the
crusade with the Emperor Conrad III.,
in 1 147. Later, when he had done good
service to the Emperor in his wars
against the Milanese, in Italy, Conrad
gave him, fur his ensign, a white lion
with two tails. Amabilia had another
brother, Theobald, and a sister, B.
ELIZAHKTU, prioress of Duxovia. Ama-
bilia stayed with Theobald and lived on
his estate. At Clatow, which seems to
have been his property, she built a
monastery, dedicated in the name of St.
Lawrence, for Benedictine nuns, and was
their first abbess. She wrought miracles
during her life, and is buried in her own
monastery, which, however, was after
wards given to Dominican monks. The
family of Swihowski, or Schurhowski,
their descent to Theobald, and
worship Amabilia with particular tle-
•i a- tln-ir patron saint. Chanowski,
lia Bohemite 7V;r. Palacky, Ge-
tckichtc von ll«li,,n //.

St. Amabilis, July 2<», M. in Africa.
AA.S ^.

B. Amadea, M-m-h <'>, Oct. 2* (AMA-
i'K' M, AMKDKA i. O.S.I I. 12th century.
Called thr - i;i,-s>rd Nun of Savoy." At
the time that St. Amadous was bishop of
mnc, his sister was a Benedictine

nun in Savoy. He wrote eight homilies
for her, which, according to Burgoner,
were so highly esteemed as to rank
among the writings of the Fathers of the
Church. Amadous and Amadea were
the children of Amadous, count of Haute-
rive, and Petrouilla his wife, daughter
of Guido VII., do Chuignos, duke of
Yienue, in Dauphiny. Amadea was
already a nun when her mother died in
111'.*. Her father and a little brother
went into the Cistercian monastery of
Bonneveaux. Instigated by the Virgin
Mary, Amadea begged her brother, the
bishop, to give her the homilies he had
written. He agreed, on condition that she
should give him something. According
to Buceliuus, the B. V. MARY provided
her with a woollen cliyrotheca, or, as
Burgener relates, a linen cover. It is
impossible for us to ascertain of what
material this article was made; for,
although it was preserved for four
centuries in the treasury of the cathedral
of Savoy, it was lost or destroyed when
that church was plundered in 153(3.
Burgener, Helvetia Sancta. Bucelinus,
Men. Ben., who quotes a Life of St.
Amadeus by Kichard Gibbon.

St. Amalberga (1 ), AMELBERGA.
St. Amalberga ( 2), widow. Abbess
of the convent of Lobbe, in 1408. In a
collection of Images des saints, repre
sented holding her pastoral staff and a
knife. Erroneously confounded with
the ST. AMKLBKUOA who lived in the 8th
century. Guenebault, Diet. Icon.

St. Amaranta, or AMARANTUS, Oct.
2*, M. at Carthage. Early in the 4th
century. AA.SS.

St. Amarma, July s, wife of a king
of the Goths. M. with St. Celian the
Scot, and his brothers, SS. Aedh and
Tadg. They were killed by the governor
of the royal house, in the hippodrome of
the king's palace. This was not later
than the end of the Mh century, the
latest entry in the Martyrology »f Tullagh
being, according to Oolgan, 899, Kelly,

M>rl Of T«Ua,jlt.

St. Amata (1), TALIDA.

B. Amata (2), or AIM HE, June 10.
12.;*;. O.S.I). In 1217, when St. Dominic
was preaching to the nuns of San Sisto,
at Komc, the first convent of his order,

50

H, AM ATA MARTINI

some secular women were present, and
among them, one possessed by devils.
The devil within her cried out during the
sermon and reviled St. Dominic for taking
away his prey, saying, " These nuns were
mine, and you have taken them away
from mo ; you have cast me out of four
persons, but out of this one I will not
go." The audience, scandalized, desired
the young woman to be silent, but in
vain. St. Dominic twice forbade the
devil to speak. 1 >ut he answered, " There
are seven of us, and we will not be
quiet." They described the way in
which each of them had entered into
their victim, and talked confusedly, like
seven persons speaking at once. Then
the saintly preacher raised his hand,
made the sign of the cross, and com
manded the devils to depart out of the
unhappy woman, and torment her no
longer. They obeyed. She cast coals
and blood from her mouth, and was
vexed no more. Very soon after this
she became a Dominican nun at San
Sisto, taking the veil from the hands of
the preacher who had saved her. He
gave her the name of Amata, and had a
special affection for her as long as he
lived. She accompanied B. CECILIA (11)
to the new convent of St. Agnes, at
Bologna, and led a very holy life. She
was buried there with BB. CECILIA and
DIANA. Pio, Uomini c donnc Illustri per
Santita.

B. Amata (.T) Martini, Feb. 20.
13th century. Niece of ST. CLARA of
Assisi. Daughter of Don Martini de
Corano. Her parents intended her to
be married. She was pleased with dress
and worldly vanity. St. Clara grieved
for the peril in which she saw her, and
prayed that she might strive to please
God rather than men. Her prayer was
heard ; Amata was soon inspired with a
disgust for the world and desire for a
religious life. She was afflicted with
dropsy and a very bad cough for a year.
St. Clara cured her by laying hands on
her and making the sign of the cross.
Amata attended her aunt during her
dying illness, and at the last saw Christ
standing beside her patient. Amata
was remarkable for her virtue and
sanctity after the death of Clara. Buried

with her sister ST. BALIJIXA. AA.SS. in
Bcnt'dicta, March lit, quoting Wadding.

B. Ambrosia, one of the nine sisters
of ST. RAIXFUEDE.

St. Amelberga ( 1 ), June 1 < >, July i < >
(AMALBERGA, AMKI.IA >. 7th, sth, or (.'th
century. Patron of women called Amale,
Amalia, or Amcl ; also of Maubeuge and
Binche. There is great obscurity con
cerning her day, date, and history. She
is worshipped on the same day as another
saint of the name ; both contemporaries
of one or other of the Pepins, mayors of
the palace. She is said to have been a,
niece of Pepin and wife of Witger, count
of Lorraine, who was perhaps her second
husband. Her daughters were ST. Iii:v-
NELD, ST. EHMELIXD, and AMELBUKGA,
who died young, and perhaps SS.
PHARAILD and GUDULA. Amelberga is
said, but not without contradiction, to
have been the mother of St. Gengulf or
Jingo, M., and St. Emibert, bishop of
Cambrai or Arras. She became a nun,
and Witger a monk. Her body was
translated from Binche, in Hainault, to-
Lobbes, where she is worshipped. Bal-
deric, Okrofiique d' Arras ct <!>' Caml>r«t.
Le Glay, chap. xvi. p. 5(i. Surius.
Martin. Boll., AA.SS.

St. Amelberga ( '2 ), or Amelia, July
10, Dec. 12, V. c. 772. Patron of Ghent.
A little print of her, given by Piuius in
his Commentary on her history in tho
AA.SS., represents her standing on the
shoulders of a king, who lies flat on
the ground, wearing his crown and hold
ing his sceptre. At each side of her
lies a huge fish; in the background,
at one side, is a draw-well, at the
other, a flock of geese. She wears a,
nun's dress, holds a palm and an open
book, and has a glory round her head.
She is sometimes represented standing
on a large fish, holding an abbess's
pastoral staff and a book ; sometimes sho
holds a sieve. She is invoked in cases
of fever, bruises, pains in the arms and
shoulders, and a disease of the intestines
called in Flanders, " dcr /<n/<i< // <7/r/."
Tho estate of Temsche on the Escaut
belonged to her. Charles Mattel wanted
to marry her, or, according to another
account, it was his son Pepiu who wanted
to make her his daughter-in-law by

ST, AMELTRUDE

51

marrying her to Charlemagne. At first
Charles carried on the negotiation by
messengers, but, as she always refused,
lie went to her house to try to persuade
her. She fled from him and took refuge
in a chapel ; the king, or rather mayor
of the palace, got angry, tried to drag her
away by the hand, and unintentionally
hn >ke her arm. After this, by the advice
of St. Willibrord, she went to Bilsen, or
Belise, and took up her abode with
ST. L A M»I! ADA, who was abbess tin re.
While her marriage was still under dis
cussion, Charlemagne paid his court to
the Abbess Landrada for her sake, by pre
senting her with a bear which he killed
in the forest while hunting near the
convent. Amelberga became a nun under
Landrada, and seems to have succeeded
her as abbess, or else to have governed
a community of nuns on her own lands,
as she is represented with a pastoral
staff. One day she wanted to cross the
Escaut, but found no boat. An immense
sturgeon offered to take her across on
his back, and landed her safely on the
other side, in memory of which the
fishermen of the place yearly offer a
sturgeon at the chapel of St. Amelberga
on her day, July in. It is even said
that no sturgeon is ever seen in those
waters except on that day, when one
always presents itself. She died in a
good old age at Bilsen, and was taken to
Temsche to be buried. A number of
sturgeons escorted the boat up the river.
Twice in her life she fed the people
during famine on the flesh of largo fish
whieh appeared opportunely in the river.
The sieve that she holds in her hand
s perhaps a pun on the name of her
te, and denotes that she was the pos
sessor of the lands of Terasche, in French
tise (/"Wx, a sieve). But a legend has

found to account for it otherwise.

The people of Temsche complaint- 1 to

her that they had only one well, and that

was in a field, the owner of which gaVo

them a «:reat deal of trouble. She went

11 with a sieve, which she filled

water and carried to another field,
where .^ho set it down. Thenceforth
there was an abundant supply of water
m that place, but the old well dried up.
A little cha|*l stands near her well, and

pilgrims resort to both for miraculous
cures. Long after her death, a woman
of wicked life prayed for conversion at tho
sacred, well. She became unable to leave
the spot, retaining all her faculties while
she kept within a certain short distance
of St. Amelbcrga's Well, but becoming
paralyzed directly she attempted to pass
that boundary. As to tho geese in tho
pictures, the same story is told of her as
of ST. WEREBURG. All the saints re
presented with geese have their feasts in
winter. A goose is the Scandinavian
sign for snow. The reason geese are
given to St. Amelberga is that she is
confounded with another saint of tho
same name, whose ft'tc is Dec. 1 2. Amel
berga (2) was translated to St. Peter's,
in Mont Blandin, near Ghent, in 870, in
tho reign of Baldwin of the Iron Arm,
first count of Flanders. Jft.Jf. Pinius,
in Boll., AA.SS. Peter Natalis. Cahicr.
Bald win of Ninove tells of Charlemagne's
love for her, and places her death in
71.'.*) ; bufccalls her niece of SS. GERTRI LI:
and BEGGA, who lived a century earlier.

/~*i T-k i • • *

St. Amelberga (:J), Dec. 12, is per
haps the daughter of AMELBERGA (1 ), and
perhaps also the lady who ought to
carry the goose. Sec AlOBLBEBQA (2).

St. Amelia (1), May :;i, M. at
Geruuda, now Gerona, in Spain.

St. Amelia (2), June 2, M. at
Lyons, not with BLANPINA. AA.SS.

B. Ameltrude (1), or AMALTRI-I.I:,
Nov. 1:5, is. Mentioned in the history
of S. MAXKI.LKNDA, a martyr of chastity.
When Maxellenda was murdered, her
parents, with great lamentation and
much ceremony, proceeded to bury her
in tho church of SS. Peter and Paul, at
Pomeriolas, near Cambrai. After three
years, a religious widow, named Aniel-
trude, who had built that church and
spent her time in prayer there, heard a
voice in the night, commanding her to
go to Vindician, bishop of Cambrai, and
urge him to take up the body of Maxcl-
leuda and translate it to tho scene of her
martyrdom, which was done. Surius.
(II/HI • ••'

St. Ameltrude (2), Aug. :;n ( A.MAL-

Tiiri.i:, KMI:M)!:KMI.I.\, (. , V.

7th or Sth century. The Normans, under

52

B. AMICIA

Rollo, c. 87i5, took her body from Eng
land to Jumieges, in Normandy, and
placed it on the altar of the monastery
of St. Peter there. It is supposed that,
finding the body of the saint splendidly
dressed and adorned with gold and silver
ornaments, they carried it off, in hope of
receiving a large sum as ransom ; but,
disappointed in this expectation, they
left it at Jumieges, where it was reve
rently preserved by the monks. A
chapel was called by her name, and a
village near long afterwards bore the
name of S. Emendrenille. Morosini,
Eceles. Diet. AA.SS.

B. Amicia, Feb. 23 (AMIGA, AMICITIA,
and perhaps ANNA). O.S.D. 13th cen
tury. Founder of Montargis. Daughter
of Simon IV. de Montfort, earl of Leices
ter ("J" 1218) ; her mother was Alice de
Montmorenci. Amicia was sister of the
great Earl Simon, called the father of
the English Parliament. She married
Gaucher de Joygni, seigneur of Chateau-
Renard. This heroic matron, says Ma-
noel de Lima, used all her influence to
make her only son take the habit of St.
Dominic ; asking this of God with great
fervour, she obtained it in the hour of
that son's death. Being rid of her hus
band and children, she built a Dominican
monastery at Montargis, and there took
the veil, and led such a life as to be
called by all writers, " Blessed." Lima
calls her Anna, and places her death in
1220 ; Guenebault, Diet. Icon., says
12:;n ; and Pio says about 1235, which
seems more likely. Lima, Agiologio
Doinenico. Pio, Donne Hlmtre per Santita.
Prothero, Life of Simon de Montfort.
L'Art d>' verifier /r.s Date*, ii. 482.

St. Amida, or AXIMIDA, July 2, M.
at Rome or in Mesopotamia. Seller, in
AAJ98.

St. Amie, Aug. !», M. in the East.
Guerin.

St. Amigradina, July 2, M. at
Rome or in Mesopotamia. Soller, in
AA.SS.

St. Amma, (1) ISIPOUA, (2) PIAMUN,
(3) TAUDA.

St. Ammia (1) (A.MNKA, ELI>E, HEL-
ris), one of those among the martyrs of
Lyons who, being Roman citizens, were
beheaded instead of being killed, like

their companions, by the beasts of tho
circus. S-'e BLANDINA. AA.SS.

St. Ammia (2), Aug. 31. 3rd cen
tury. Foster-rnottier of St. Mamas the
martyr, who was born in prison. His
parents, SS. Theodotus and RUFIXA, died
there for the cause of Christ, and he was
taken by a certain Christian woman of
senatorial rank, and brought up kindly.
KM. Men. of Basil, in Ughelli, It«U<i
Sacra, x.

SS. Ammonaria (1 and 2), Dec. 1 2,
MM. 2r>(>. AMMONARIA (1), V., was
beheaded at Alexandria, in the reign of
Decius. At the beginning of the trial,
she declared she would not utter a word,
and kept her resolution, in spite of long
and terrible tortures. Her judge, not
liking to be outdone in determination by
women, had her companions beheaded
without torture ; they were SS. MERCUHIA,
DIONYSIA, and AMMONARIA (2). JR.M.
J. M. Neale, Holy Eastern Church. But
ler, from Eusebius.

St. Ammonatha, Dec. 12. Baring
Gould says she is mentioned in some
Greek calendars, with ST. ANTHA, on
this day. Perhaps the same as AMMO
NARIA.

St. Ammonia, Feb. 10. M.with ST
COINTA and 1 ( > others, at Apollonia, i
Macedonia, under the Emperor Decius
Ferrarius, Topography.

St. Ampull, or AMPOULE, is sometime
spoken of as if it were the name of
woman, but this is not the case. It wa
the sacred phial used for the anointin
of Clovis, at his baptism, at Rheims, i
41*6. The legend is that the crowd i
the church was so great that the cler
could not get through it to bring th
chrism (anointing oil) to St. Rein
(Remigius) the bishop, as ho stood
the font with his converts. The bishop
prayed that tho holy ceremony migh
not be delayed, and lo ! a white dov
appeared, bringing a small phial of oil
with which the king was anointec
The same phial has been used at th
coronation of every king of France dowi
to that of Charles X. in 1825. It i
about the size of a walnut ; it has neve
been replenished, yet it never suffer
any diminution of oil. Colliii de Phmcy
L'-<j' ii'lr* <!" rilisfoire de France.

ST. AXASTASIA

St. Ana, V. Honoured in Ireland,
Jan. 18, with ST. Si ..in (2).

St. Anarguris, July 1. Patron, in
some parts of ( » recce, of flocks and herds.
In the isle of Scio, the peasants take
a sick ox to the church of St. Anarguris,
and pray for its recovery, vowing that, if
it is cured, they will present it to the
saint when superannuated. On July 1
numbers of old oxen are brought there
and killed on the threshold, and the
flesh is given to the poor. MacmiUan's
MfKjaziiH', March, 188.% "Old Mythology
iii Xew Apparel," by J. Theodore Bent.

SS. Anastasia (1) and Basilissa,
April 1 .">. (HI. Roman matrons of high
rank and great wealth. Disciples of the
Apostles. They were detected collecting
and burying the relics of the Christians,
and beheaded, after having their feet cut
oil', and tongues torn out. R.M. AA.SS.

St. Anastasia (2), Dec. 25, Oct. 20
and 28, V. M. at Rome, in the time of
Valerian (2:>:>-200). Called "the Elder,"
because she lived a generation earlier
than the great martyr Anastasia. She
is honoured on the same day as ANA-
STASIA ( .-) ), and also on Oct. 20 and 28.
She is in the R.M. Oct. 28. In the
Menoloyy of Ba#ilt Oct. 12, she was a
nun under ST. SOPHIA, from the age
of 2o. She was accused to Probus, an
officer under Diocletian, of worshipping
neither the gods nor the Emperor. He
sent soldiers, who broke into St. Sophia's
house i called inonasferium, but there
were, at that •time, no monasteries in the
modern sense of the word), and took
Anastasia to their master. Sophia ex
horted her to endure all things bravely
for the love of Christ. Probus advised
her to renounce her religion. She had
her breasts cut oil', her tongue cut out,
her teeth drawn, and her nails torn off.
She asked for water, and one Cyrillus,
who was standing by, gave it her, and
obtained as his reward the martyr's
crown. Anastasia was beheaded, and
left on the ground to bo eaten by beasts
and birds of prey. Sophia, who had
pray«:il earnestly that her young discij>l<
icit not yield to the assaults of the
enemy, came to take her body, arid give
thanks that sin- was now safe with Christ.
J3eing a feeble old woman unable to walk

without a stick, much less carry the
mutilated body of Auastasia, she was
assisted by two angels. JR.3f.

St. Anastasia (•'$), Jan. 5, M. in
Africa. AA.SS.

St. Anastasia (4), July 29, M.
AAJS8.

St. Anastasia (">), Dec. 25, V. M.
304. Patron of Zara ; of Santa Severina,
in Calabria ; and of weavers. Called in
the Greek Church, " The great martyr
Anastasia, the dissolver of charms ; "
called in the Grseco-Slftv. JforfyttJlomf,
given in the AA.SS., vol. 3, '* Dissolver
of chains and parmacolytria." One of
the great patrons of the Western Church.
Her name is in the canon of the Mass.
It is also in the Sacramentary of St.
Gregory, and other ancient catalogues of
martyrs. A very old church in Rome is
dedicated in her name. In the Acts of
St. Chrysogomis. which, however, are not
of undisputed authenticity, it is said
that he was her spiritual director ; that
she visited him in prison ; and that she
was tortured and burned alive, by order
of the prefect of Illyricum, in 304. Her
body was removed to Rome, and buried
in the church which bears her name ;
but afterwards translated to Constanti
nople. The Popes anciently said their
second Mass on Christmas night in the
church of St. Anastasia, whence a com
memoration is made of her in the second
Mass. The story of her persecution and
martyrdom is given, with variations, by
Vega and Villegas, quoting Ado of
Troves, Bede, and other ancient hagio-
graphers. According to these legends,
she was the daughter of Protasius, or
Pretaxato, a heathen Roman nobleman,
and PAUSTA, or Flavia, who was secretly
a Christian. Anastasia was brought np
in the faith of her mother, with the
assistance of St. Chrysogonus, a venerable
priest of the Christians, whom both
mother and daughter visited and assisted
when he was obliged to conceal himself
from the persecutions of the heathen.
Fuiista Ittiiig dead, and Chrysogonns in
prison, Protasius married St. Anastasia,
against her will, to Publius, a heathen.
II'- was so angry at her unconcealed dis
like to the marriage, and at the report
that she belonged to the despised and

ST. ANASTASIA

suspected sect of Christians, and used to
go secretly, with her maid, disguised in
men's clothes, to visit the prisoners of
her religion, that he at once imprisoned
her, intending to starve her to death, and
take possession of her property. During
her imprisonment, she was comforted by
letters from St. Chrysogonus, who en
couraged her to suffer all things rather
than renounce her religion. At her
husband's death she was brought out of
prison with her three maids, who had
shared her captivity, and who were
immediately put to death. The judge
who condemned them was found dead in
his bed next morning. His successor,
trying to persuade Anastasia to abjure
her religion, was struck blind, and, calling
on his gods for help, was answered by the
devil, " Because you have insulted the
spouse of Christ, you shall be tormented
by us in hell." He died the same day.
Another judge, knowing that she had
great possessions, said, " Give me all
your riches, then you will be a true
Christian ; I will let you go and worship
whom you please, and your poverty will
please your God." Anastasia replied,
k* My Master would have me sell what I
have, and give to the poor ; but you are
not poor, and would spend all in sinful
luxury." He condemned her to die of
hunger. She was fed by angels, or by
the spirit of her friend ST. THEODOKA, or
THEODOTE, who had formerly helped her,
but who had before this time suffered
martyrdom. Auastasia was next put in
a boat, with a number of other Christians,
and set adrift on the sea; they were safely
cast ashore on the island of Palm aria,
where other Christians already lived.
The whole community were edified by
the conversation of St. Anastasia, who
was soon remarked by the authorities
as an irrepressible Christian, and con
demned to bo roasted alive. She said
she did not fear pain, because she had
Christ in her heart; so the governor
ordered her heart to be brought to him
after her death ; and he found the name
of Jesus written on it. 27<> companions
of her martyrdom in Palm aria are
honoured with her. Other accounts
place the scene of her martyrdom in
Home, and say she was buried by her

friend APOLLONIA in her garden under
the Palatine hill. Others say Apollouia
buried her in Dalmatia, whence she was
translated to different places. A laugh
able story is told of her three maids,
AGAPE, CHIONIA, and IKENE. EM.
Goldt'ii L''ij<'ii<l. Villegas. Vega. Butler.
Baillet. Greek and Russian calendars,
Dec. 22. Mrs. Jameson.

St. Anastasia (<>) of Olivet, June 2,
5th or early lith century. Called " Saint "
by Philip of the Visitation, in his Hixtory
of tlie Cfti'iiti'litf*. She is mentioned as
leading a holy, ascetic life on the Mount
of Olives in the time of the famous abbot,
St. Sabas, who died at a great age in 5-' 52.
AA.SS. Prsetrr.

St. Anastasia (7) Patricia, March
10. r>»)7. A beautiful patrician matron
of Constantinople, named Auastasia, in
voluntarily became the object of the
admiration of the Emperor Justinian,
and the jealousy of his wife Theodora.
Anastasia fled to Alexandria, and built a
convent five miles off, in a little town
called Quinto. This convent stood for
many years after her death, and was
called from her the convent of Patricia.
A few years after her flight, Theodora
died ; and Auastasia, hearing that Jus
tinian was searching for her, left her
retreat by night, and went for protection
to the abbot Daniel, who presided over
a laura in the desert of Sceta. She told
him her story. He put her in a cave
some distance from his dwelling, for
bidding her ever to leave it, or any one
else to enter the place of her retreat, and
called her Anastasius the eunuch. He
showed the place to one of his monks;
told him to take a vessel of water there
once every seven days, and put it down
in front of the cell ; then, having listened
to one prayer of the recluse, he was to
come away. In this manner Anastasia
lived for 20 years, without departing
from the rule given her by Daniel.
Feeling herself near death, she wrote on
a shell a request to the abbot to come
and bury her. She then hung the shell
outside her cell. Daniel, warned in a
dream, told the monk to go to the cell
of the eunuch Anastasius, where he
would find a shell, with writing on it,
hanging outside the door. He did so,

ST. ANEGLIA

and brought it with all speed. They
went to her, and found her in a fever.
The abbot kneeled dmvn beside her.
She sat up in her lair, kissed the old
man's head, and entivate.l him to bury
her in the clothes she wore, and not to
reveal her story or her sex to any one ;
then she begged his prayers and blessing,
and gave him hers. When he had signed
IUT with the cross, her face beamed with
celestial light, and illumined the cavern
as if many lamps had been there. Then
she died, and the two monks buried her.
As they were returning home, the younger
monk said, " Father, do you know that
that man was a woman?" The abbot
said, " I know it, my sou." Then ho
told him her story, and the reason of her
concealment. AA.SS., from the great
< of the Greek Church.

St. Anastasia (8), Sept. 9, Dec. s,
Dec. !», V. 8th century. Third or fifth
abbess of Horres, near Treves. Buce-
liuus, Mrn. J>< n. FerrariuSj Martyrdogy*
Usuard and Molauus, in their Calendars*

B. Anastasia (1J)> Dec. 24, V.
Cistercian nun at Ramey, in Brabant,
appeared, after her death, to her friend
B. IDA of Xivelle, dressed in splendid
purple robes, adorned with jewels, sur
rounded with a great and glorious light,
and attended by a multitude of holy
virgins. Ida asked her how she had
earned this promotion, and she said,
" Inasmuch as for a long time I patiently
endured grievous bodily sufferings, a
scourge with which my Father was
pleased to * afflict me, therefore I am
numbered among the martyrs. By the
four splendid stones that you see in my
crown, are meant the four principal
virtues : Wisdom, Temperance, Forti
tude, and Justice." Having said this,
she departed. Bucelinus, Men. 11* //.
Henriquez, Lil'm.

B. Anastasia (i<>), Dec. 8. 1240,
Duchess of Pomerania. Daughter of
Mieczhlaws, duke of Poland. Married,
in 1177, as his second wife, Bogislaw
I., duke of Pommrrn Stettin, who died
March is, lls7. Anastasia then built
the lied Monastery, in the dioceso of
' ito, in Sclavonia. She brought
thither, In nuns of the Priemoustra-
teusiau Order, from the Bethlehemito

monastery, in Frisia. Having divided
her lands and goods between her two
sons, she betook herself to her new
monastery, and lived there, in great
strictness and humility, as a lay-sister.
Mirocus, Oi'tliii-x Prsemonstnitensis Chr<>ni-
eoft, p. 17'.». Biilow, Staimnt'if' In det
Piniiii'iTxi-li 7if/x/N<7/t'» Fiirxtenhausffi, p. 1.
Le Paige, 2}il>L Or<l. Prsemonst. Holyot,
G/V//VX JfojuiftftgiMf, ii. 20.

St. Anastaso, or ANASTASONE, July
18. Matron in Epirus. Guerin.

St. Anatolia (1), PHOTIXA (1).

St. Anatolia (•->), J"1? J)» v- M- 3rd
century. Sister of ST. VICTORIA. Repre
sented (1) with torches and serpents;
(U) delivering a man from a dragon ;
(3) breathing in the face of a possessed
Anatolia and Victoria were

man.

banished from Rome, in the persecution
under Decius, because they had made a
vow of virginity. Anatolia, after show
ing her sanctity by casting out devils,
was shut up with a serpent. It did her
no harm, but bit Audax, her guard. She
took the serpent in her hand, spoke to
it, and sent it away. She cured Audax
and converted him. They were both
tortured and put to death. She was
buried at Terano, in the Sabino hills.
She is honoured with Audax, July '-> ;
and with her sister Victoria, Dec. ^18 ;
and Victoria has a separate festival,
Dec. 2:J. EM. Boll., AA.SS. Hare,
Citli'x of Italy. Husenbeth.

SS/ Anatolia 00 and Faustina, or
F ELICIT AS, July !>, MM. with seven
Christian priests. Boll., AA.SS.

St. Ancilla, April ,">, V. M. 343.
Maidservant, either to ST. PIIEUHUTIIA or
her widowed sister, and martyred with
them under Sapor, king of Persia. s
TABBULA*

SS. Androna and Theodpta, Nov.
1, :;, MM., with Severus and Theodotus.
Mentioned in a metrical Greek Mar-
tyrology. G. V. II., m ^2l.£S., Nov. 3.

St. Andropelagia, Sept. r.. c. 250.
V. M. with her sister THKCLAOI- THKOCLA,
and CALODOTA, at Alexandria, in Egypt,
with a priest, a deacon, a reader, a soldier,
a sailor, and four other men. AA.SS.

St. Anea, May 2s (AsiA, ANIAS), M.
at Rome. AA.SS.

St. Aneglia, ()<:MK, OGNIES, or

56

ST. AXGADRESIMA

ONEGLIA. 8th century. Friend of St.
Silvinus, a legionary bishop, whose office
was to preach to the heathen ; he died
at Auchy, in Artois, 718, and she took
care of his body and buried it. She is
mentioned by Henschenius, in the Life
of St. Sih'inun, Feb. 17, and is there said
to be the wife of Asquarius and mother
of Siccidis, who is probably ST. SICILDIS.
Mas Latrie, Trt'sor, says Aneglia was
wife of Adalsque, and is honoured at the
Fountain of Besse.

St. Angadresima (1), March 17,
Oct. 14, June 27 (ANDRAGASIMA, ANDRA-
GASYNA ; in French, ANGADKEME, ANGA-
REME, or GADRON ; in the Martyrology of
Salisbury, GAWDRYSYVE), V. "f c. 695.
Abbess of Oroer, near Beauvais. Patron
of Beauvais. Represented marked with
small-pox, carrying coals in her apron.
Daughter of Robert, keeper of the seals
under Clothaire III., and his mother ST.
BATHILDE. Robert betrothed Angadre-
sima to Ansbert or Austrebert, son of
Swivin, lord of Vexin. As both Ausbert
and Angadresima wished to remain un
married from religious motives, they
agreed that, if compelled by their parents
to marry, they would pray to be pre
served from any love for or human
interest in each other ; Angadresima also
prayed that she might lose whatever was
attractive in her. She was soon after
wards dreadfully disfigured by small
pox or leprosy, which she regarded as a
good excuse for breaking off her engage
ment without disobeying her father.
Robert now took her to Rouen to receive
the religious veil from St. Onen, the
bishop. Not long after her profession
she was ordered to bring some live coals
to light the candles. She brought them
in her aprou, which was not burnt ; this
miracle is represented in her pictures.
She soon became the spiritual mother
of many nuns, whom she edified and
governed for .'Jo years, in an abbey which
her father built for her at Oroer, near
Beauvais. Her life is gathered from
that of St. Ansbert, \\ho was to have
been her husband. AA.SS. Baillet.
Bucelinus. Cahier. In 1473, in the
reign of Louis XI., the city of Beau\»is
was miraculously defended against the
Burgundian army by this saint ; and

ever after, on her festival, women and
girls took precedence of men in the
procession. Monstier, Gynecseum, March
27.

St. Angadresima (2), AXDIJAGA-
SIMA, AN<;.\I;I:MK, ANCJARISMA, etc. 7th
century. Abbess of Arluc, near Antibes.
Migne.

St. Angela (1) of Bohemia, July (>.
] 2th century. Carmelite nun. Daughter
of Wladislaus II., duke of Bohemia.
Sister of Ottocar, first king of Bohemia,
and B. AGNES of Bohemia. Angela
had divine revelations, and wrote several
books, one on the Venerable Sacrament ;
hence, in her picture in the church of
the Carmelite fathers at Prague, she is
represented holding a book. (Chanowski,
Vcstiyia Bohcmise Pise.) A legend, from
the Speculum Carmclitanum in the AA.SS.
is as follows : —

ST. ANGELA OF BOHEMIA, V., daughter
of a king of Bohemia in the 12th cen
tury, supposed to be Ladislaus II., was
born at Prague and brought up in a
convent, from which she escaped in
men's clothes, to avoid being given in
marriage to the son of the king of
Hungary, leaving a letter to tell her
father that she would belong only ta
Christ. Her first resting-place was the
house of some infidels, whom she con
verted and taught to read. In the depths
of a dreary forest she was hospitably
received by some barbarians, who engaged
her for a time as their secretary. Pro
ceeding on her travels, she met a company
of people in a wood, one of whom, a
soldier, was going to Jerusalem by way
of Constantinople, and gave her his
protection as far as the latter city. In
the church of St. Sophia there, Christ
appeared to her and gave her a Latin
book of prayers, which were those of the
order of the ] brothers of our Lady.
She next went with the soldier to
Jerusalem, where a woman gave her
clothes, and took her to the prioress of
the Sisters of our Lady, who had seen
her in a dream, and having looked at
her book and found her to be the same
as the woman of her vision, received her
into the sisterhood. Here, before long,
she became prioress, and so continued
for 35 years. During that time, by

II. AXCJKLA

57

IUT prayers, she rescued her monastery
from the Mamelukes, Ethiopians, and
Saracens, and obtained rain by her inter
cessions. Afterwards, being warned that
great troubles were coming on her
own country, and that it stood in need
of IHT prayers, she returned to Prague,
where she is said to have died towards
the end of the 12th century.

The first invasion of the Mamelukes
was in 1'J .">'•, and it was repeated from
time to time till 1516, so that if it is
true that she rescued her convent from
these infidels, she must have lived at
least (in years later than she is said to
have done. Pinius, however, the editor
of this volume of the AA.SS., does not
appear to consider any part of the legend
reliable. Probably it is a romance
added to the life of the sainted Princess

A.NGKI.A OF liOHEMIA.

B. Angela (2) of Foligno, Jan. 4,
March :}(>. 1249-1300. Patron of Foligno.
:'.i.l O.S.F. Represented (1) with a
crown of thorns in her hands ; (2) with
all the instruments of the Passion in
her arms, a crown of thorns on the
ground at one side of her, and a crown
of roses and thorns at the other. Of a
distinguished family of Umbria, born at
Foligno, a few miles from Assisi. Her
mother, a good woman, gave her some
religious instruction ; but, according* to
tin- custom of the time, so much deplored
by ST. ANGELA DE MERICI, her education
a good deal neglected. Angela
married young, and had several children.
Sin: was not a good wife or mother.
Sin; was self-indulgent and fond of
pleasure, and had plenty of money, both
fr.,m her own family and from her
husband, to procure everything she
wanted. She had occasional serious
thoughts, and fears about her salvation.
.vus kind and generous, and retained
in. in lit r motht -r's early teaching a great
v« ncration for St. Francis. While break
ing tin: commandments she sometimes
said to herself that if death overtook her
so far from her duty to her husband,
her children, and to (Jod, she would
!••• lost; but sh<; shrank from changing
all her habit--, not liking to excite
observation, and not having courage to
break \vith her life of ease and pleasure.

At last it happened that her mother,
her husband, and all her children di«-d
in a very short time. Her grief for their
loss, and her startling conviction of the
suddenness with which souls may bo
called away from this life to the o"th«-r,
led her to withdraw at once from her
former pursuits and companions, and
give herself up entirely to devotion.

She joined the Third Order of St.
Francis, and tried to repent and amend ;
but at first did not confess fully and
honestly, because the confessors were so
strict, and she was so ashamed of the
sins into which she had fallen. She re
ceived the Holy Sacrament without
having made a full confession.

The devil kept tempting her at times
to return to her old vices and pleasures,
sometimes to commit sins even greater
than any she had been guilty of, and
sometimes to despair of forgiveness and
oven of repentance. This struggle
lasted about two years. She declared
she would rather bo subject to all the
diseases in the world, and all the
tortures and wounds of the martyrs, than
again undergo such temptations. Then
came peace, for she began to love God,
and to see that Ho was the proper object
of her thoughts and aspirations. She
cared no longer for any thing or person
on earth, not even for the saints and
angels, but for God alone. After this
the devil again tempted her to sin, to
despair, and to kill herself, but she came
to trust in the love of God. She had a
friend, a devout woman named Pasqua-
lina, who assisted her in her charitable
works, and went with her to visit the
poor. After they had given all their
property away, Angela said to Pasqua-
liiia, "Let us go and visit our Lord
Christ in the hospital of San Feliciano."
They wanted to give the patients some
thing. All they could muster was a
handkerchief and a cloth of little value.
These they got the servant of the
hospital to go and sell for them. In
spite of her reluctance, she consented,
and brought them back twice as much
money as they expected. With this
they sent her to buy comforts for some
of the most sulfering patients. Mean
time the two friends washed the lepers

58

. VEX. ANGELA

and thoso who Lad dreadful sores ; they
made the beds, and said words of con
solation and kindness to the poor sick
people.

When Angela was dying, 1300, she
said, " Now my soul is washed and
cleansed in the blood of Christ. He will
not send saints or angels for me, He
will come Himself." She was buried in
a chapel of the church of St. Francis
in Foligno. She was beatified by
Innocent XII. in 1603. Jacobilli, Santi
dell' Uinbria, gives other incidents of her
life besides these.

There exists a very curious little book
of Visions and Instructions, dictated by
her to Arnold, a Franciscan monk and
her confessor, and revised by her after
lie had written it. He adds some little
explanations and an account of her death.
A copy in the British Museum is sup
posed to have been printed at Venice in
1500. It is reprinted as Part V. of the
JKblioiheca Mystica et Ascetica, 1840.
There is an English translation by a
secular priest. In this book Angela tells
that, while she was trying to repent
and was being converted, she went
through 18 steps before she arrived at
knowing the imperfections of her life.
Collin de Plancy gives a short sketch of
her in his Saintes ct Bienlieurcuses.
Bussy, in his Courtisannes de venues
Saintes, mistakenly gives the date of
her death as 1588. Boll., AA.SS.,
Jan. 4. A.R.M., Mart. Seraphici Ordinis,
March 30.

Ven. Angela (3) Chigi. 14th
century. 3rd O.S.A. Of the powerful
family of the Chigi, lords of Macerato.
Niece of B. John Chigi of Siena, for
some time a monk in the old convent of
Val d'Aspra. She gave all her goods to
the convent of Saut Antonio at Val
•dAspra, and took the veil there in 13»'»<i.
Representations of her as a saint, and
bearing the title of " Blessed," were
common in Italy. A short history of
her life was appended to that of her holy
uncle, published in Kome by Father
Capizucchi, master of the sacred apostolic
palace. Torelli, Secoli A<joxt'nil«ni, VI.

B. Angela (4). A 'Eomau of the
Order of Hospitallers of the Holy Ghost.
"f c. 1450. In Van Lachom's Collection <>f

Foundresses of Orders, published 1030,
she is represented with a cross crosslet
on her cloak. Guenebault, Diet. Icono-
grctphigue.

B. Angela (5) of San Severino, in
the march of Ancona. O.S.D. Perhaps
14th century. Pio.

B. Angela (O) Serafina, March
24, Feb. 4 (ANGELICA SERAPHINA, CORRE-
GIARA, CORTREGIARA). "J'1512. Dominican
nun, under B. ANTONIA OF BRESCIA, in
the convent of ST. CATHERINE THE
MARTYU, at Ferrara. She was never
guilty of mortal sin, and died in the
odour of sanctity. Henschenins, in the
AA.SS., mentions Angela as a disciple
of Antonia, but places her among the
Prsetermissi, March 24. Serafino Hazzi,
Predicatori. Pio, Uomini Illustri per
Santita, Feb. 4.

St. Angela (7) de Merici, May 31,
Jan. 27, Feb. 21, June 2. Called also
St. Angela of Brescia. 1470 or 1474-
1540. Founder of the Order of Ursu-
lines. Represented with a ladder beside
her. Born at Desenzano, a little town
on the western shore of the lake of
Garda, six or seven leagues from Brescia.
Her father was Giovanni Merici; her
mother, of the family of Biancosi, of
Salo. They were in a comfortable and
respectable position, and were exemplary
and religious. They had several chil
dren, of whom Angela was the youngest.
Every evening they gathered their little
flock together for religious reading,
sometimes from the Bible, sometimes
from accounts of the hermits and fathers
of the desert. Angela and her sister,
like most children of any imagination,
dramatized these stories, and played at
hermit life in their own room. They
were still very young when both their
parents died, and the two sisters went
to live with their mother's brother, at
Salo. Soon after they had taken up
their abode in their uncle's house, both
girls excited great consternation by
their disappearance. After an anxious
search, Biaucosi found the children in a
cave, where they had withdrawn from
the world, with the intention of living
like hermits. Ho brought them home,
but encouraged their taste for religious
seclusion. It was, perhaps, at this time

ST. ANGELA

59

tluit Angela, to avoid admiration and
vanity, washed her spleudid golden hair
\vith sooty water to dim its lustre.
A,Vhcn the girls were nearly grown up,
the elder one died suddenly without thu
sacraments. Angela feared she might
liavc departed with some uuforgiven sin
on her soul, and might bo eternally lost.
She prayed and longed intensely to bo
red of her sister's salvation. She
grieved and fretted so distressingly that
her uncle tried to divert her thoughts
from the subject. One day ho sent her
to his farm to look after the haymakers.
On the way thither her agonized prayers
\\vre answered : she saw a luminous
cloud before her, and as she drew nearer
and gazed intently, she discerned in it
a countless multitude of angels and
saints, in the midst of whom was her
lost sister. Angela had not yet received
her first communion, though she had
long passed the age at which it has gene
rally been customary among Catholics
to observe that sacred rite. She now
begged to be allowed to perform this
duty, and from that time she became
more devout and ascetic than ever. She
enrolled herself in the Third or secular
Order of St. Francis, fasted to excess,
would have nothing of her own, and, in
spite of her uncle's objections, turned all
the furniture out of her room, ami slept
on a mat with a stone for a pillow.

After the^death of Biancosi, she re
turned to Deseuzano, with some like-
minded eompanions ; sho thought they
should try to be of use to their fellow-
iiiivs. Sho said that the scandals
and abuses in society arose from the
want of order in families ; the faults of
1'ainilirs were generally traceable to the
hers, and the reason there were so
really Christian mothers was that
girls wen: HO ba-lly brought up. This
subject being much in her thoughts, one
day, as sho was in the fields with her
.<ls, sin- stayed ti little apart from
tln-m to pray, and, looking up, sa\v in
tin- vault of heaven a brilliant ladder,
on which an in Unite number of girls
Were usri-nding two and t\vo, wearing
beautiful crowns, and led by an
"While sho watched and wondered, sho
h«ard a voice say, "Courage, Angela!

before you die you shall establish in
Brescia a company of virgins like those
you have seen here." The very next
day she and her companions began to
collect little girls and teach them ; at
the same time, they visited and ministered
to the sick, and sought out sinners. The
devil, in the form of an angel, tempted
her to vain-glory, but sho came safely
through this trial.

Sho joined a band of pilgrims going
to the Holy Land. In the island of
Candia, one of their resting-places, An
gela became blind. Nevertheless, sho
continued her journey, desiring to tread
the ground her Lord had trod, and to
visit the scenes of His life and death,
although it pleased God to deny her the
happiness of seeing them. Not until
sho arrived again at Candia, on her
return journey, did she recover her sight.
Passing through Venice, she was invited
by the Senate to take the direction of
all the hospitals there, but she departed
quietly, and returned to Brescia. Next
year she went to Rome for the jubilee
of 1. ">-!.'>, and was presented to the Pope,
Clement VII., by his chamberlain, Paul
do la Pouille (di Apuglia ), who had
made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem iu
her company. The Pope, having heard
much of her sanctity and miracles, re
ceived her very graciously, and proposed
to place her at the head of a house of
hospital sisters, or that sho should remain
in Rome and take charge of various
houses devoted to works of mercy. Re
membering her vision, she felt bound to
decline the flattering offer, and explained
to his Holiness the reason she must
return to Brescia. She did so, but about
1 1 > years more elapsed before she founded
her celebrated order. Meantime her
fame was growing. In 152l> tho Duke
of Milan, of tho house of Sforza, came
to Brescia, to beg her to adopt him as
her spiritual son, and to take his do
minions under her protection. Tho King
of France, the Pope, and tho Kmperor,
were fighting for his as well as other
possessions, and the duke probably
thought nothing but the intervention of
a saint could restore his fortunes. The
people iled from I5n->ei;i, and Angela
sought an asylum iu Cremona. While

GO

VEX. ANGELA

there, to mollify Heaven in favour of her
afflicted country, she macerated her
innocent body until her fastings and
austerities brought her so near the gates
of death that her recovery was deemed
miraculous.

In this same year, 152i>, the Emperor,
the King of France, and the Pope came
to terms, and peace was restored. Angela
then returned to Brescia, and while at
tending Mass, she fell into an ecstasy,
during which she was seen by several
persons to be raised from the ground
and to float in the air for a considerable
time. Many revelations were made to
her, and she told things she could not
possibly have known by means less than
supernatural. Notwithstanding all these
favours of God, and her great progress
in spiritual life, she still delayed to
found the order.

One night, in a vision, Christ up
braided her with neglect of her voca
tion. After this she felt she could no
longer defer the execution of her
plan. She stirred up her companions,
and on Nov. 15, 1535, they went to
the prisons, the hospitals, and the poorest
and lowest places, and each collected
into her own house all the young girls
she could find, and began to instruct
them. At first it was merely an asso
ciation ; the associates did their work
each under her parents' roof. They
could thus go, in their ordinary clothes,
into houses that would have been closed
against them had they worn the dis
tinctive dress of a religious order, because
at this time the doctrines of Luther were
beginning to leaven society. Angela
would not be called founder, nor allow
the new order to be named after her;
but as St. Ursula is the patron of all
who devote themselves to the care and
education of young women, she called
her companions Ursuliues. She gave
them a rule, but did not compel them
to live together or to bring any dowry
to the association. They only took
simple vows. With the approbation of
the bishop of Brescia, she was superior
of her own community for about five
years, but did not live to see the triumph
of her order. She died on Jan. 27,
154o, and was buried in the church of

St. Afra, over which a miraculous light
was seen by all the city for several
nights. She was venerated as a saint
by the inhabitants of Brescia long before
her death, and multitudes resorted to her
tomb to obtain favours of God through
her intercession.

Pope Paul III., soon after her death,
gave the new order his sanction, and St.
Charles Borromeo, the young archbishop
of Milan, seeing its immense usefulness
in Brescia, established a branch in Milan.
In 1572 Gregory XIII. ra'ised it to the
rank of a religious order, under the rule
of St. Augustine, and bound its members
to the cloister.

The Institute of the Ursuliues consists
of several congregations, differing in
minor matters, but all having for their
object the education of girls. There
were more than 300 houses of this order
in France before the Revolution, one of
the most famous being that in the Rue
St. Jacques, Paris, where Madame de
Maintenon was a boarder.

St. Charles Borromeo busied himself
about her canonization, but it was not
accomplished in his lifetime. She was
inscribed among the saints by Clement
XIII. in 1768; beatified by Pius VL,
and solemnly canonized, in 1807, by
Pius VII. She is claimed as a member
both by the Augustinian Order and the
Third Order of St. Francis. Her narn®
is in the R.M., Jan. 27, the day of her
death, and also May 31. The Bene
dictines transfer her festival to June 2,
and the Romano-Seraphic Order to Feb.
21. (Appendix EM.) Her Life, pub
lished by Duffy, in the Young Christian's
Lilti'ftry. Gueriu, Lcs Pctits Bollan*
(Hub-*, xii.

Ven. Angela (8) Mary Astorch,
Sept. 2t>. 10l»2-17»>5. Born at Barce
lona. Of a rich family, who opposed her
vocation. She became a Capuchin nun
in Barcelona, was appointed mistress of
the novices in a new convent of her j
order at Saragossa, and afterwards supe
rior of another which she built at
Murcia. She resigned that office, and
devoted herself to her own salvation.
Pius IX., in 1851, published a decree,
pronouncing her possessed of heroic
virtue. Leon, Aur«>l<'.

B. ANGELINA COKUAUA

01

Yen. Angelina (1), Oct. <». -fv n 7".
Nun at Fontevruult, in Anjou. She was
of ono of the noblo families of Anjou,
and was consecrated to God, in the con
vent of Fontevrault, by her parents, in
her childhood. She had the most beau
tiful voice that ever was heard in the
choir there. A time came when sho had
to choose whether sho would take the
veil or leave the convent and live in
the world. A dream decided her voca
tion, and sho became a nun. Sho had
paroxysms of love to God. She died
young, about 1 1 7< >. Her biographer ex
horts his readers to ask her intercession,
but it does not appear that she has ever
been honoured with public worship.
Chambard, S<i!nt$ Pcrsonnat/es (FAlUO*,

St. Angelina (2). Hth century.
Wife of St. Lazarus. The elder of two
SS. Angelina, queens of Servia, Helen
Angelina Militza, afterwards in re
ligion Eri-HKMiA, or EUGENIA, was of tho
illustrious family of the Xeemanides and
related to Stephen Doushan. She mar
ried Lazarus Grbljanovich, the last in
dependent king of Servia. Ho came to
tho throne in 1371. He was grandson
of Stephen Doushan. They had eight
children. Lazarus was killed, June 15,
', in the battle of Kossowa, whore
the Turks defeated tho Christian host
with great slaughter, and made them
selves masters of Servia and the neigh
bouring states. Bajazet, the conqueror,
gave the enslaved kingdom jointly to
Stephen the son, and Wuk Brankovich
the son-in-law, of Lazarus and Angelina,
and took their daughter Olivera for one
of his wives. Stephen found his position
so difficult that ho withdrew for a time,
with his mother and a younger brother,
Vuk or Vlk, to tho monastery of liussi-
kon, on Mount Athos, where tho monks'
republics were respected and left in
peace by all tho belligerents. Ho was
accused of plotting with tho Hungarians
:ist liis over-lord, and Angelina had
to go to r.ajuzet to convince him of her
son's innocence. Angelina, Lazarus, and
hen wero universally beloved in
their lives, and were worshipped as saints
after their death. La/arus was accounted
a martyr. Two different monasteries,
liavauitsch and Vrdnik, claim to have

his body in their church, and pilgrims
go to visit his shrine at each place. At
Vrdnik lie appears wrapped in the em
broidered mantle which ho is .said t •
have worn at Kossowa. Stephen died
in 1427, and was buried at Belgrade.
Mas Latrie says that a chrysobull of
Juno H, 1305, in favour of the monastery
of Kussikon, on Mount Athos, emanates
from the nun Eugenia, her sou prince
Stephen Lazarevich, and his brother
Vuk. Among tho spoils of war in the
Serai, at Constantinople, hangs tho
armour of a son-in-law of Angelina and
Lazarus, Milosch Kobilovich, who killed
the Sultan Murad at Kossowa, and was
taken by the guards and hewn in pieces.
Martinov, Annux Ecclcsiasticus, June 15,
July 1!>. Hammer, Q&ekickte dc# Otto-
manitcken JRficJtx, i. P. J. V. Safai-ik,
Gfsch. der Scrbischen Litcratur. C. J.
Jirecek, Gcsch. der Bulyaren. Meyer,
Conversations Lexikon. Lebeau, B<i*
Kinjn'r<; xx., xxi. Mas Latrie, Trcsor de
Okronologie.

B. Angelina (3) Corbara, July 14,
15, and Dec. 22, V. of Marsciauo. 1377-
1435. Called in her own order LA B.
MINISTUA, B. CONTESSA. Countess of
Civitella and Montegiove. Patron of
Foligno and of the family of Corbara.
Founder of tho cloistered nuns of the
Third Order of St. Francis, of tho con
vent of St. Anna at Foligno, and of 15
other houses of the same order in dif
ferent parts of Italy. Represented in
the habit of tho Third Order of St.
Francis, holding a church in one hand,
as a founder, and a flaming heart or a
ball in tho other.

Her father, Giacomo della Corbara,
was of an ancient and powerful family,
and very rich ; he was count of Corbara,
Montemarta, Tisiguiauo, and several
other castles and villages in the terri
tories of Orvieto, Todi, and Perugia.
Her mother was Countess Anna dc Bur-
^ari, of tho family of the counts of
Marsciano. Angelina was born at Monte
Giovc, ono of her father's fortresses, 10
miles from Orvioto. Sho was pious from
her earliest childhood, and at the ago of
1 2 dedicated herself to Christ with a
vow of virginity. The first miracle re
corded of her is that, ill her enthusiastic

02

B. ANGELINA CORBARA

love of almsgiving, she took meat out
of the pot in her father's kitchen to give
to the poor. The cook was very angry,
and complained that she gave her chari
ties at the expense of his character,
as he would be suspected of stealing ;
whereupon the meat was miraculously
increased to the original quantity.

Her beauty, amiability, and connec
tions soon brought numbers of suitors
for her hand, among whom her parents
chose the Count of Civitella, in the
Abruzzi. In vain did Angelina beg to
be allowed to remain unmarried. Her
father threatened to kill her unless she
consented to an alliance with the count.
It was revealed to her in a vision that
she might obey and still keep her vow.
On the day of the marriage, she threw
herself on her knees before a crucifix,
and implored the Saviour to remember
that she had dedicated herself to Him.
An angel appeared and comforted her.
Meantime the count, wondering where
she was and what she was doing, looked
through a crack in the door, and saw a
young man talking to her. He broke
into the room in a fury, and found her
alone. He asked to whom she had been
talking. Angelina then confessed all
the circumstances. From that moment
he considered himself privileged in
having under his care a virgin espoused
to Christ. He followed her example
and advice in taking a vow of celibacy,
and they lived devoutly at Civitella,
spending their time in works of piety
and mercy.

There were at least six places in Italy
called Civitella ; this was Civitella del
Tronto, and in the time of Jacobilli was
a royal free city with N.-J7 fires, a castle,
and a tower. It gave to its possessor
the title of count, as also did Montorio,
another place belonging to Angelina's
husband ; both were near Teraiio and
Ascoli.

The young couple lived happily at
Civitella for a year, and then the count
died, exhorting his wife to persevere in
all her good intentions and good works.
Angelina, who was now 17, joined the
Third Order of St. Francis, with all the
young women who were her companions
or attendants. They travelled through

various places in the Abruzzi, inspiring
many persons with the wish to follow
their saintly example. She was sum
moned to appear before Ladislas, king
of Naples (i:5Si>-1414), accused of being
an extravagant woman who had spent
all her husband's property, and of being
a vagabond and a heretic who dis
approved of marriage and misled the
ignorant. The king resolved to have
her burnt alive ; he did not tell any one
of his intention, but Angelina knew it.
Before entering his presence, she went
into the kitchen of his palace, and got
one of the servants to fill the corner of
her poor cloak with burning coals, which
she carried to him. He saw that she
was not afraid of fire, and that God
would save her by a miracle if He chose
her to do His work. Ladislas conversed
with her, and was completely disarmed
and won over to her side by her modest,
fearless answers, her good sense, and un
selfishness. He parted from her with
demonstrations of respect and friendship.
Her reputation for sanctity was esta
blished by her raising from the dead a,
young man of one of the principal
families in the kingdom of Naples. So
many persons wished to do her honour
that she had to leave Naples by night to-
avoid the distinction which was thrust
upon her. Her influence led so many
young girls of noble families to become-
nuns, that their parents persuaded the
king to banish her from his dominions.

She returned to her father, who gave
her his blessing and his consent to the
lino of life she had taken. She sold all
she had, and distributed the money to the
poor. In August, 1, '>!>.">, she went with
her companions to visit the sepulchre of
St. Francis at Assisi, and to obtain the
indulgence at the famous church of Santa
Maria degli Angeli, a mile from Assisi.
While there she was instructed in a
vision to found a convent in Foligno, of
Tertiario Claustralc, cloistered nuns of
the Third Order. She went to Foliguo
with her friends, and visited all the
churches in the town, including that of
St. Francis, where the body of St. Aug. In
of Foligno was kept. Then, having ob
tained a piece of ground from the lord
of Foligno, and procured the consent of

B. ANGELINA

03

the Pope, Angelina, in obedience to her
vision, Imilt the monastery of St. Anna,
for twelve nuns. It was finished in 1 .">'.' 7.
In addition to the ordinary vows of ter-
tiaries, they took one of perpetual cloister.
It was the first convent of nuns of the
Third Order, and Angelina was elected
the first abbess. She would not have a
larger number in her own convent, but
so many holy women wished to adopt
her new institution, that, in i:{(,»(.', she
had to build another house, the church
of which was consecrated in the name of
ST. AONKS, V. M. She appointed 1'..
MAI;<;AKI:T m DOMENICO of Foligno to be
its first superior. Margaret would only
accept this great responsibility and
dignity on condition that Angelina
should always pray for her and her
charge.

• The nuns of the first convent were
popularly called Conte»set and the convent
Santd Ann<t <t<'llr Cuntet9et in honour of
their founder. The nuns of the second
convent were known as Margaritcle, and
the convent La Margaritura. Margaret
died there, in the odour of sanctity,
Juno 13, 144H.

Angelina built 1 <> monasteries of her
order. Their names arc given in her
Life, by Jacobilli. Besides B. MARGARET,
Angelina had two disciples numbered
among the " Blessed," namely, B. AXTOXIA
!.oui:\ri: and 15. I'AII.A OP FOLIGNO.
After edifying her order and her country
by her great virtues and mortifications,
and after 'J^ years of success, Angelina
died happily, in her first convent of St.
Anna, at Foligno, on July 14, 14M5, in
her .V.'th year. The people immediately
began to worship her. The bishop
red all the canons, priests, and
ks to accompany her blessed body to
the church of the Minors of St. Francis,
re she ha<l sisk<-d to be buried. The
nuns of the Miif-fin-iliim bogged that the
nil might pass by their monast< rv.
\\lien it did so, II. Margaret threw her
self at the bishop's feet, and begged him
to take the holy ahhess's ana. and 1
tin- nuns with it, which lie did. Th ••
'l<:i'l saint was expos.-. I to public venera
tion in the church of tho Franciscans for
ttiree day s, during which, not with standing
the extreme heat, the body rema:

fresh and lifelike. Immense crowds
pressed round tho bier. So great wa*;
the desire to possess a relic of the beloved
saint, that a guard of soldiers had to bo
stationed on each side of her to prevent
any pious theft. Many people went to
pray in the chapel where her body was
laid, and miracles were soon recorded.
In 14.">:i, 17 years after her death,
the walls of her chapel sweated blood.
There was universal consternation : some
attributed the miracle to some fearful
crime which was to be brought to light ;
some to an impending calamity; and
while all were in fear and distress,
Angelina appeared to a devotee, and told
him it was because the Christians had
lost Constantinople. In 1402 Angelina,
appeared to Era Giacomo Colombini, who
had been praying to her to procure for
him some alleviation of his great pain
and infirmity. She promised to cure
him, and ordered him to tell the father,
guardian, and all the brothers, to move
her body from under the arch, and put
it on the altar in the same chapel.
Accordingly, they opened tho cypress-
wood chest, found the sacred body fresh
and flexible, took it in procession round
the town and through the seven churches
of Foligno, and translated it to the place
she had named. A second translation
was made in ir>'_M. She was publicly
venerated, particularly by the counts and
countesses of Corbara, who considered
her their advocate and protectress. The
people of Foligno took her for one of
their chief patrons, although without tho
authority of the Church until 1825,
when tiny petitioned Leo XII. to
sanction, by a solemn canonization, the
worship they already paid to her. i
tin- Pope did by declaring her " Blessed."
A.B.m. T&mcM(h8erapkic M<nt., July i."».
Jacobilli, Santi */*•//' T///////'", S<mti <!/
Fnlitjiin, and Vltn <l>If<i ll,-nt,i Any HH-I.
Hclyot, OrtlwH Minm*ti<jii' 9.

B. Angelina ( 4 ) of Spoleto, Juno 2< »,
V. f 14:,(». O.S.F. Of a noble family
of Spoleto. She became a nun in III"
in tho Franciscan convent of St. Gregory,
under her aunt, Francesca, who wasabbeifc
there. The purity of Angelina, and tho
fervour of her devotion, were so great
that an angel brought her u ring, in

04

ST. ANGELINA

token that Christ had married her in
paradise. She died at the age of LV>,
having been a nun of extraordinary
sanctity for 10 years. While she lay
dead on the bier, a wicked woman tried
to kiss her hand. Angelina would not
submit to such contamination, but drew
her hand away. Jacobilli, Santi <!<//'
Umbria. Mas Latrie, Tresnr. Papebroch,
AA.SS., relates that he went to Spoleto,
to satisfy himself that she was not a
duplicate of one of the other ANGELAS or
ANGELINAS of Umbria. He was told
that innumerable miracles were wrought
through her intercession, and he was
shown her tomb and pictures in the
church, representing some of her many
cures.

St. Angelina (5), July 30. -f c. 1510.
Queen of Servia, or despotess of Eascia.
Wife of St. Stephen the Blind. Mother
of SS. George (Jan. 18) and John (Dec.
10), called despots of Kascia, now Novi-
Bazar or Yeni-Bazar, the capital of
Servia. Saverstia Angelina was
descended from the imperial family of
the Comneni, and was the daughter of
George Arianita Topia Golem, lord of
Durazzo and Valona, and one of the
greatest nobles of Southern Albania.
He was a Eoman Catholic, and to him
Pope Eugenius IV. committed the banner
of the Church, to carry it against the
Turks. Angelina grew up in very
troublous times. She was a child when,
in 144!-!, the Christians were defeated in
the second great battle of Kossowa.
Under the tyranny and cruelty of the
Turks, many of the Albanians became
Mohammedans ; many emigrated to
Hungary ; and some of the chief families,
holding obstinately to the Greek or to
the Koman Church, were exterminated
by the conquerors. Stephen, a great-
grandson of St. Lazar and of the elder
ST. ANGELINA OF SEHVIA, was now despot
of Ixascia. He had been blinded in his
youth by the Turks, and driven from
his poor remnant of a kingdom by his
brother, but had succeeded, for the second
time, to the throne, and been hailed by
the Serbs as their prince. Ho was living
on his own estates in Albania when,
about 1 -I'll i, he married Angelina. They
continued to live in Albania for some

time, until, the Turks becoming more
and more of a scourge, they withdrew to
Kupinik, now Sirmisch, on the Save,
where, according to Martinov, they and
their sons died and were buried ; the
date of Stephen's death is given by this
account as 1477. Schafarik, Serbischen
Literatur, however, says they went to
Italy in 14ii7, apparently, among the
; In, nun Albanians who — on the death in
that year of Angelina's brother-in-law,
George Castriota (Scantier Beg), their
champion against the Turks — migrated
to the kingdom of Naples, and founded a
colony at San Demetrio. Here Stephen
died about 1481. Angelina then went
with her sous to Transylvania, and after
wards returned to Kupiuik. Both her
sons bore the title of despot, and she was
called deymtisKa. In 1400" the two
brothers used the formula: "Nos Georyhi*
reyni Hascise despotus et Johannes f rater
ejusdem caniulis." In 1490 George be
came a monk, taking the name of Maxim,
and afterwards bishop and archbishop.
He resigned these dignities, and retired
to the monastery of Krusedol, which he
had built; and there he died, Jan. is,
1510. His mother survived him only a
few days. At Krusedol the bodies of the
four saints, Stephen, Angelina, George,
and John, were preserved as fresh as in
their lives until 1710, when the Turks
plundered the monastery, and destroyed
the holy relics. Angelina was so good
and charitable that the Servians to this
day speak of her with affection as
"Mother Angelina." Several MSS.,
now in the cloisters of Sirmia, belonged
to her collection, and some contain notes
made by her own hand. She was a nun
during the last years of her life, aud was
called THEODORA. The life of her sou,
George Maxim, is said to bo preserved
in a book of legends at Krusedol. Be
sides her two sons, she had a daughter,
Mary, who married at Innspruck, in 1 4s,'),
Boniface IV. Paleologus, Marquis of
Moutfcrrat. Martinov, Annus Ecclex.,
July o<>, Oct. t», Dec. 10, Jan. is.
Hammer, Otmanischen Reich. Lebeau,
xx., xxi. Meyer, Conurrxntiimx L<-xi-
/,•<>//. Schafarick, ,SV/7,/>r//r// Lit'-ratitr.
C1. J. Jirecek, Gexchichte der Lnl<i«,-< •«.
Lenormant, L<i Grande Grccc.

ST. ANNA

65

Ven. Angilburga, or E\r;iu:ri;,:.
Jan. 11'. "(• '. '!.">. Empress. Daughter
of Louis, king of Germany. Wife of
Louis II., Emperor. Although innocent,
sh. \\as divorced. She lived in the
convent of the Resurrection, which she
had founded at Placentia. On the
Emperor's death she took the veil, and
ia time became abbess. After a few
years she was sent to the convent of St.
Julia, at Brescia, over which she pre
sided for many years. Sho died at a
great ago. Bucelinus.

St. Angre, May 14, V. M. Honoured
at Apt, in Provence. French Mdit.

St. Ania, May 28 (ANIAS, AMA), M.
at Rome. AA.SS.

St. Animais, M., with ANNA < 7 .

St. Animida, or AMIDA, July 2, M.
at Rome or in Mesopotamia. Boll.,
AA.SS.

St. Anna (1), Oct. :J. Called in our
IJil do HANNAH, and by Mgr. Guerin STE.
ANSI: i»'Mi.« ASK. Wife of Elkanah, and
mother of the prophet Samuel, who was
born, B.C. 1105, in answer to her fervent
prayers for a son, accompanied by a vow
to dedicate him to God. Her hymn
'. 1 Sara, ii. 1-1 oj has strong points of
resemblance with that of the B. V. MARY
< St. Luke i. 4<J-.">.")j, and her mention of
the Lord's "anointed," with which it
ends, is regarded as the first instance in
which the Christ is expressly so called
in the Scriptures. On this account she
is considered a prophetess. In fulfil
ment of her vow, she placed her son
in the tabernacle, and left him with
the judge and prophet Eli. With
maternal tenderness she made him a
little coat each year, and took it to him
when she and her husband went from
their homo at Ramathaim-Zophim to
make their annual offering. After
.Samuel, she had three sons and two
daughters. She is commemorated in
the Greek Church, Oct. 3. All that is
known of her is in the first and second
chapters of the First Book of Samuel.
Jso Smith's l)',t-l'iunnrii <>/ ///•• 7> //•/,-
and Calmet's Dii-t'n-mu // »/ ///•• /;//»/»-.

St. Anna (-'>, Feb.';;, Sept. J, is

represented holding the tables of tin
Jewish Law, to denote that she lived
blamelessly. She was a prophetess,

daughter of Phamiel, of the tribe of
A srr. At the age of eighty-four she
was a widow who spent her time in the
temple, and " served God with fastings
and prayers night and day." When the
Infant Jesus was presented there, she
recognised in Him the expected Messiah.
She is the earliest of the New Testament
saints. Her name is in the 11. M., Sept. 1.
Ughelli and the Greek Meneas honour
her with St. Simeon, Feb. 3. The Feast
of the Purification was anciently called,
in the East, the Feast of the Meeting,
i.e. of St. Simeon and St. Anna, with the
Christ, in the Temple, at the Presenta
tion. This feast is mentioned in the
Pilgrimage of St. Silvia, late in the 4th
century ; but at that early date it was
probably celebrated with so much honour
only at Jerusalem, whence the custom
of its solemnization extended to other
countries. Richard et Giraud, 1M//0-
tli^itw Sacree. St. Luke ii. 36-38. R.M.
St. Anna (3), July 26 (ANN, ANNE).
t A.I). 1. Mother of the B. V. MARY.
Patron of two places called Anuaberg,
one in Brunswick, the other in Misuia ;
of Madrid, which adopted her in a pesti
lence in l.";97 ; of Apt, Brittany, Bruns
wick, and Ourcamp ; of the Counts of
Schlick, and the Counts of Haiuault ; of
the cathedral of the Canaries ; of mar
ried people ; takes the place of Juno
Lucina as patron of confinements; is
called in Southern Italy /« vecchia potcnte
( thu powerful old woman); pregnant
women who place themselves under her
special protection wear an apron or
some other article of a brilliant emerald
green. Sho is also patron of makers
and sellers of lace ; makers and sellers
of linen cloth ; broom- makers ; house
keepers ; grooms ; stable- boys ; dealers
iu. old clothes ; carpenters ; cabinet
makers ; turners ; inlayers of wood ; and
all workers in hard wood. St. Gomer
is patron of workers in soft wood.
According to Cahier, the reason for
Anna being adopted patron of workers
in wood is that no one was received to
the rank of master in any guild or cor
poration of tradesmen until ho had made
a masterpiece. In the 10th and 17th
centuries the tabernacle was a very im
portant part of the ornamentation of an

F

C6

ST. ANNA

altar, and a wood-worker generally
showed his greatest skill in its construc
tion. St. Anna was considered to have
made the first tabernacle, namely, the
Virgin Mary. A composition, called in
the workshops " the brains of St. Anna,"
was the great resource for hiding certain
defects in the wood. It consisted of a
strong glue mixed with sawdust of the
defective wood, and was cleverly used
to fill up cavities.

Azevedos counts SS. Joachim and
Anna among the " Advocates," or " AUXI
LIARY SAINTS."

Pictures or drawings of Anna have
been found in the catacombs : these and
other early representations depict her
with her hands stretched out in prayer ;
near her a dove, bearing a ring or a
crown in its beak. In mediaeval art she
holds a book, and generally appears to
be teaching the Virgin Mary to read,
and sometimes pointing to the words,
" Radix Jesse floruit." In some of these
pictures the Virgin Mary, although she
appears as a child sitting on her mother's
lap, holds the Infant Christ. St. Anna
is sometimes the centre figure of a com
plicated picture of the relatives of our
Saviour. Sometimes she appears meet
ing and kissing St. Joachim at the
Golden Gate, bearing a lily, on the
flower of which is represented the face
of the Virgin Mary.

According to the Golden L<'<(<-n<l,
Pcrfetto Leggendario, etc., she was the
daughter of Stolano, also called Gazarius,
of the house of Juda, and her mother
was Emerentia. They had another
daughter, Hysmerye, who had a daughter,
ST. ELIZABETH, mother of St. John the
Baptist, and a son, Elynd, father of
Emynen, of whom came " S. Servace
whoso bodye lyeth in Mastreyght upon
ye ryver of Ye Mase."

St. Anna was married three times,
and by each marriage she had a daughter
named Mary. Her first husband was
Joachim, father of the B. V. Mary, " who
chylded our lorde Jhesu cryste." Joa
chim was of Nazareth ; Anna was of
Bethlehem, and of the tribe of Juda.
They were rich. They divided their
goods into three parts : one they gave
to the temple and its servants, one to

pilgrims and the poor, and the third
part they spent on themselves and their
servants. When they had been married
twenty years, and had long sorrowed
because they had no child, they made a
vow that if God would give them one,
they would dedicate it to His service. At
the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple,
St. Joachim went with his friends, to
Jerusalem, as usual, to make his offering.
The high priest scornfully rejected it,
saying that a man who, inasmuch as ho
had no children, was evidently under
the displeasure of God, ought not to pre
sume to offer gifts at the altar. Joachim
went away sorrowful and confused. In
stead of returning to Anna, he went to
his herdsmen and stayed some time with
them, until he was comforted in a vision
by an angel, who told him his prayers and
alms were accepted before God, and that
Anna should have a daughter named
Mary. She was to be brought up in the
temple, and of her should be born a
great Lord, through whom salvation
should come to all people. The angel
said, " By this sign thou shalt know that
the vision is from the Lord : when thou
shalt come to the Golden Gate of Jeru
salem, thou shalt meet Anna thy wife."
Meantime, Anna remained sorrowfully
at home. One day, as she sat under a
laurel in her garden watching a bird
bringing food to its little ones in the
nest, she said to herself, " Every wife
has children except me ; the very birds
in the trees have their children, but I
have none." Then she heard her maid,
on the other side of the bushes, deriding
her because of her barrenness. But now
the same angel who had appeared to
Joachim visited her in a dream, promised
her a child, and relieved her anxiety
about her husband's prolonged absence
by telling her she should find him at
the Golden Gate. They both obeyed
the heavenly messenger, and went to
Jerusalem. There, at the Golden Gate,
they met. The next year Anna had a
daughter, according to the promise of
the angel ; and they called her Mary, as
he had commanded. When Mary was
three years old, they brought her to the
temple, with offerings. There were fifteen
steps up the temple, and the child, who

ST. ANNA

67

had never yet walked, ran up to the top
of the flight without assistance. When
Joachim and Anna had made their offer
ing, they left Mary in tin- temple with
the other virgins, and returned home.
Mary grew in holiness daily, and had
visions from God.

Anna was thirty-six years old when
Joachim died. She then married (1h>pa<.
brother of St. Joseph the carpenter, and
had, by him, a daughter Mary, whomarri< -d
AlpluunK and had four sons — James the
Less, Judas Thaddeus, Simon Zelotes,
and Joseph the Just. After the death
of Clopas, Anna took, as her third hus-
hand, Salome, and had another daughter,
Mary Salome, who married Zebedee, and
was the mother of the two apostles,
SS. James the More and John the
Evangelist. Anna lived until our Lord
Christ was one year old. In the time
of Octavian her soul was carried to
Abraham's bosom; at the ascension of
Christ it was carried to heaven, where
she has a very honourable place, being
one of the saints who enjoy the glory of
the great God.

Another legend, giving miraculous
birth and ancient lineage to Anna, is to
bo found among those collected by Le
Roux de Lincy, who derives it from a
metrical IJible of the i:5th century. It
is as follows: —

A thousand years after the fall of

m, God transported the tree of life

into the garden of St. Abraham, and

sent an angel to inform the patriarch

that on this tree the Son of God should

: ucilit -d, that the flower of the tree

would give birth to a knight who would

bring into the world, without the assist-

of any woman, a virgin, whom

i would choose for His mother.

Abraham had a daughter who breathed

tin- perfume of the tree, and thereby

lx-r;une ' in; /'////•„ TllO Je\VS condemned
to he burned 1<» death. She went
into the tire, and proved her innoc.
by remaining unhurt in the midst of it.
All the flames then changed into How-
then- was not a coal or a brand bnt

irae a lily or a rose. Uy-and-by she

birth to a son, who grew up a

valiant knight, and rose t<> be king, and

:.tually Kmp« ror. His name W;H

Fanonel. He was the possessor of the
Tree of Life, and although he did not
thoroughly understand all its properties,
when sick or wounded persons came to
him for help, he cut a fruit from tho
tree, divided it in several pieces, and
distributed them to the sufferers, who
were thereby cured of whatever disc:,
or injuries they had. When he cut tho
fruit ho always wiped tho knife on his
thigh, until at last the juice of the fruit
got into tho thigh, which swelled and
gave him some trouble and anxiety. All
the physicians of the country tried their
skill in vain. The thigh grew bigger
every day for nine months, and then
produced the prettiest little ///•/!/»./»///•
that ever was seen. That was " Sninl
An in- qiu- Dim <iu,m /"///." The Emperor
was much ashamed of the slur that thus
fell on his character. He called a knight,
who was his confidential attendant, and
told him to take tho child into tho
middle of a forest and kill her. The
knight proceeded to ol>ey. Just as he
was going to strike his victim, a dove
appeared from heaven, saying, " Knight,
do not kill this child ; for of her shall be
born a virgin whom God will choose for
His mother." So he put the babo into a
swan's nest and left her. A stag brought
her food, and, if she cried, gave her
flowers to comfort her. About ten years
after this, Fanouel one day went hunting
in the wood, and followed the very stag
that had adopted the deserted child.
The stag took refugo under the swan's
nest, • where the little girl still lived.
The Emperor was astonished to find a
beautiful yonng lady, ten years of age,
in a swan's nest, and said to her, " My
beauty, who are you?" To which tho
wise child replied, " Sire, I am your
daughter.'1 He found she knew tho
whole story, so ho took her to court and
married her to Joachim, a knight of his
empire. Of this marriage was born the
Blessed Virgin Mary.

A legend of Anna, told by Dr. Mant,
and said to be derived from tho writings
of Ilippolvtus tho martyr, is that sin-
was tho youngest of three daughters of
Matthan tho priest, and Mary his wile.
Tl.e two elder sisters, Mary and >
married in Ut-thk-hem. Mary had a

B. AXXA

daughter, Salome the midwife ; Sobe was
the mother of St. Elizabeth, mother of
St. John the Baptist ; Anna, the youngest,
married in Galilee, and brought forth
Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Baillet, F/rx /// * Snint*, " St. Joachim,"
March 20, says that wo know from St.
Gregory of Nyssa and other reliable
•writers, that these traditions come to us
from apocryphal histories of St. Mary,
containing divers superstitions.

Nothing is known with certainty of
the father of the B. V. Mary, except that
he was of the house of David. If the
genealogy given by St. Luke is that of
Mary, then her father was Heli.

St. Gregory XIII., by a brief dated
1584, commanded a double feast to be
celebrated in honour of St. Anna, through
out all Christendom. The worship of
St. Joachim was not established by
authority in the Latin Church until
1<;22, under Gregory XV.

B. Anna (4), March 5, V. Time of
the Apostles. Wife of St. Conon, bishop
of Bida or Bidaua, in Isauria, who con
verted his father and mother, Nestor and
Nada, to the Christian faith. Anne,
together with Nestor, is, by the Greek
Church, honoured among the martyrs.
Conon is commemorated March 5. Pape-
broch and Henschcnius are uncertain as
to Anna's right to the honours of saint-
ship. Boll., AAJSS.

St. Anna (5), Oct. 22. 2nd or 3rd
century. Was converted by seeing the
constancy under torture of St. Alexander,
M., bishop of a place unknown, and was
put to death with him, Heraclius a
soldier, and SS. THEODOTA (2) and GLI-
CERIA (2). ST. ELIZABETH (2) is com
memorated with them, but is supposed
to have been martyred at another place
and time. A church in their honour
was built at Constantinople. They are
mentioned in the Mcnoloyy of JJasii, but
Greek saints were received with caution
by the Western Church, because many
schismatics were honoured among them.
Benjamin Bossue, in Boll., AA.SS., Oct.
22, ix.

St. Anna (0), Nov. 20, V. M. c. 343,
with BAHUTA.

St. Anna (7), March 2(5, M. c. 370.
One of the earliest Christians among the

Goths on the Danube. She was with five
other women and twenty men in a church
which was burned by Jungerich, king
of the Goths, in the time ot the Emperors
Valens and Gratian : the names of the
other women were ALLAS or HALAS, PARIS
or BAKIS or BAKKA, Moiro or MAMICA,
VIRGO or Vico, and ANIMAIS. Boll.,
AAJ3S.

St. Anna (8), Oct. 2 or 2S, or May 4,
M. at Jerusalem, in the 4th century.
Patron of Ancona. Went with her son,
St. Cyriacus, bishop and martyr, to visit
the holy places. They were arrested by
order of Julian the apostate, hung up by
her hair, and burned with lamps ; she
died under the torture. Her body was
translated to Ancona by the Empress B.
GALLA PLACIDIA, in the following cen
tury. Anna is mentioned in the Greek
and Ethiopian calendars. Her history
is only known from the fabulous Act* of
her son. As a fact, there was no general
persecution of Christians under Julian,
although there doubtless were cases
where the malice or covetousness of
those in power, or special provocation
on the part of certain Christians, led to
the oppression or murder of individuals.
Boll., AA.SS. GynccdBiiw.

St. Anna (i»). 5th or (>th century.
Patrpn of the church of East Looe, in
Cornwall. Daughter of the Prince of
Glamorgan. Married Amwyn, or Amuon
the Black, prince of Bro-Weroc, in Brit
tany, i.e. the country about Vannes which
was colonized from Britain. SS. Padarn,
Malo, and Magloire were of the same
illustrious Welsh stock. Anna was sister
of GWEN JULITTA and mother of St.
Samson, bishop of Dol, in Brittany, who
was born about 520. A holy well in
the churchyard of Whitstone, in Corn
wall, bears her name. Her worship — in
England, at all events — is much older
than that of ST. ANNA (3), mother of the
B. V. MARY. Rev. S. Bariug Gould, Book
of the West. Stadler. Butler.

St. Anna (10), Nov. 2S. A young
widow of high rank dwelling in Con
stantinople towards tho middle of the
Sth century. Disciple and spiritual
daughter of St. Stephen of Mount St.
Auxentius, also called St. Stephen the
Younger, to distinguish him from two

ST. ANNA

contemporaries. Her real name is un
known. She took that of Anna on
becoming a nun in a convent at the foot
of the mountain on which St. Stephen
lived as a hermit, after ho had been per
secuted by the iconoclasts at Constanti
nople. In 7.~>4, refusing to support a
false accusation against Stephen, she was
cruelly scourged by order of the Emperor
Constantino Copronymus, and put in
prison at Constantinople, where she soon
died, in consequence of the ill usage she
received. She is mentioned by Surius
in the life of St. Stephen, Oct. 28. The
Bollandists promise more information
when their calendar comes down to her
day. This is perhaps the saint called
Anna Greca by Gut-nebault, who says she
was an abbess of the Order of the Ace-
metes, and that she is represented hold
ing a statuette, doubtless to denote that
she adhered to the use of holy images,
notwithstanding the persecution of the
iconoclasts.

St. Anna ( 1 1 ) Euphemian, Oct. 29.
8th and beginning of \nh century. A
native of Constantinople. After the
death of her husband and children, she
gave all her property to the poor, and,
disguised as a man, obtained admission
to a monastery on Mount Olympus, where
she lived several years, under the name
of Euphemian. She was much perse
cuted by a fellow-monk, changed her
residence several times, and died a re
cluse at Constantinople. Her story, from
the Mcnoas of the Greek Church, is
given at considerable length, with notes,
by the Bollandists, who do not seem to
think it ivlkhlr. AA.SS.
TSt Anna (12), July 2:;. f c- 918-
V. of Leucada, or Lencata, a promontory
<<i K{'iius, or lUthynia. She was of noble
birth. After the death of her parents,
the Kmjuior liasil, the Macedonian,
desired her to accept a husband of his
choosing; but she chose rather to kud
iibato ascetic life. She was about
seventy-eight years of age when she died.
Perier, in .!/!.> v

St. Anna (13). Grand-princess of
Ku»ia. !'r,:;-ini 1. There are many con
tradictions in tin: accounts of this prin-
. and it is doubtful whether she
should be placed among the saints.

More information regarding her is to
be found in tho histories cited at the
end of this article.

Anna was born, of wicked parents, at
Constantinople in 1H>:5, a few days before
the death of her father, Romanus II.,
Emperor of the East. Her elder sister,
Theophano, married Otho II., king of
Germany and Emperor of the West (see
ADELAIDE (3)). Romanus II. was suc
ceeded by his sons, l>asil II. and Con
stantino VIII., who reigned together.
In their time Anna married, with con
siderable repugnance, St. Vladimir (mon
arch of Russia, grandson of ST. OLGA),
to make peace between tho Greek empire
and their dangerous neighbours, and
still more with the object of winning
him and his immense country over to
the Christian faith. As a condition of
his marriage, he put away his other
wives, and deposed his god Perune. He
was threatened with blindness, and Anna
promised him that his sight should be
restored if he would be baptized. Ho
complied, taking the name of l>asil, and
was immediately cured. He then built
a church in Kief, dedicated it in the
name of St. Basil, and enforced his new
religion with all the determination he
had previously shown in other matters.
His life, after baptism, was as strict as
it had before been dissolute. He died
lOlo. Anna died lull. He is called
Isapostolos, and has also been called the
New Solomon, not from his wisdom, but
from the great number of his wives. He
was father of Yaroslav, whoso wife was
ST. ANNA (14). Lebeau, Hintoirc du 13ax
lrr, xvi. 57, etc. Martinov, Grxco-
. Cdh-ndar. Karamsin, Hiutoire de
/e, i. 207-283.

St. Anna (14), Grand-princess of
Russia, Feb. lo, and, with her son St.
Vladimir, Oct. 4 (!NGAUDAS, INGEBIOUG,
I\I.K,I.I;DA, IKENE). She was daughter
of Olaf Skoetkouung, king of Sweden,
who gave her for dowry tho town of
Aldeigaburg, or Old Ladoga. She took
the name of Irene at her baptism, and
that of Anna with the monastic habit,
shortly before her death. She was tho
wife of Yaroslav the Groat, son of the
first St. Vladimir and father of the second,
who, in l<>i;() succeeded his father as

ST. ANNA

Grand-prince of all the Eussias, and
reigned from the Baltic to Asia, and to
Hungary and Dacia. He was far more
enlightened than his predecessors, and
than many of his successors for some
generations. He caused the Bible to bo
translated into the Slavonian tongue,
and transcribed some copies with his
own hand; he founded many schools,
but his great glory was the code of laws
he enacted. He built the church of St.
Sophia, at Kief, one of the oldest in
Eussia. That of St. Sophia, at Novgorod,
was built by the second St. Vladimir ;
it is the oldest building in Novgorod,
and one of the three oldest churches in
Eussia. In it the founder and his
mother, St. Anna, lie buried. The date
of Anna's death, 1<)50, is still to be seen
on her tomb. She was the first of the
Eussian princesses to take the religious
veil on the approach of death, a custom
which afterwards became general. Yaro-
slav and Anna had six sons, one of whom
was St. Vladimir II., and one is said to
have married a daughter of Harold God-
wiusson of England. Anna had three
daughters : Elizabeth, queen of Norway ;
Anna or Annte, queen of France ; and
Anastasia, or Agmunda, who married
Andrew I., king of Hungary ; perhaps
also a fourth daughter, Agatha, who
married the English Prince Eadward
Aethling, and was mother of Edgar
Atholing and ST. MAHGAKET, queen of
Scotland. Yaroslav died in 1054, and
was buried at Kief.

These accounts of these Eussian prin
cesses are chiefly taken from Karamsiu,
Ilixtoirc, <!<' Eusisie. S. Anna Ingigerda
is also mentioned by Mailath, titamint-
afd dcr Arpadi'ii ; Martinov, Slav. Calen
dar; Snorri Sturlusson, Kin <js of Norway;
Neale, Holy Eastern CJiun-l/.

St. Anna (15), daughter of the
Emperor Eomanus. Wife of the Eus
sian Prince St. Vladimir II. ( Yarosla-
vitchj, son of ST. ANNA (14). Mother
of the Grand-prince St. Mistislav the
Brave, who feared no person or thing,
but God only. He defended Novgorod
against Andrew of Sousdalia, and was
beloved all over Eussia. Mistislav, his
father St. Vladimir, his mother, and
grandmother are buried in the church of

St. Sophia at Novgorod, which Vladimir
Yaroslavich built on the site of the
wooden church of the year 100U : the
stone church was built by Greek archi
tects, and is preserved, with its gilt
domes, in all its grandeur, unspoilt by
wars or storms. St. MiBtislav's dead
hand, quite black, protrudes from under
the cloth which covers his body, and is
exposed for the kisses of the faithful.
Chester's RiiHxta, and the authorities for
the other Eussian saints.

B. Anna (16) Michieli Giustini-
ani, Nov. 21. O.S.B. Daughter of
Vitale Michieli, doge of Venice (1156-
1172J, the last doge who was elected by
the people, the seventeenth who was vio
lently dethroned, and the sixth who was
murdered in a riot. In 117<> there was
war between the state of Venice and the
empire of Constantinople. At the same
time, the Emperor had a personal dis
like to and quarrel with the Giustiuiani,
one of the most ancient and wealthiest
of the Venetian noble families, and much
beloved by all classes in the city. They
therefore took up the national quarrel
with family pride as well as political
and patriotic ardour, contributing a large
contingent of ships and men, and desir
ing to make good all loss that might
accrue to the Eepublic from the war.
The doge led the expedition, and every
man of the Giustiniaui family went with
him. At first the Venetians had some
successes, but after suffering greatly
from the treachery of the Greeks, they
were attacked by the plague. Some of
the Giustiniani had been killed in skir
mishes, and all the rest were among the
victims of the pestilence. About two years
from the time he had set forth so gallantly,
Vitale returned home, bringing back
only seventeen of the hundred ships he
had taken out. The people were furious
with the doge, and threw upon him the
whole blame of the ill success of the
expedition, and the destruction of a
family so popular among them. The
Emperor triumphed in the extermina
tion of the hated race, but Vitalo knew
there was one scion of the family, a
certain brother Niccolo, who, although
accounted dead to the world, was still
living in the monastery of S. Niccolo

B. ANNA

71

«lel Lido. Through tins man he re
solved to revive the great aud popular
family so tragically cut off, and applied
to Pope Alexander III. for permission to
marry his o\vn daughter to Xiccolo
<;iustiniani. Tin- Pope freed Xiccolo
from his monastic vows, and commanded
him to restore his family to its proper
place in Venice by marrying Anna
Michieli. It soon became evident that
the ships which had returned had brought
the plague witli them; hundreds of
us died within a few days. Terror
reigned. The fickle populace again laid
all the fault on their doge, and mur
dered him in a tumult. As soon as
they had done it, they repented, and
remembered how good he had been.
Xiccolo and Anna spent many years to
gether, rich in this world's goods, and
richer in good deeds. They had six
sous and three daughters. Eventually
Xiccolo returned to his monastery, and
Anna went to live in the magnificent
nunnery of St. Adrian, which she had
built at Aniiauo; and there she spout
the rest of her life in fastings, prayers,
and good works. The pictures of Nic-
colo and Anna are kept with great vene
ration in the church of St. Nicholas, in
token of their sanctity. Many miracles
have been wrought l>y both saints. Life
!>. L"i -i /c~.'" Giuatiniani, their descen
dant, who died Jan. 8, 1455, written by
Bernardo Giustiuiani, and given in the
AA.tiS.1 Jan. 8. The story is told with
many interesting details by Lebeau,
in >l» I In* Kinjtti-f, xix., xx. of the
old edition, xvi., xvii. of the new ( 18-">:» ).

U«t.,,-<i of Venice, " lluglishod " by \V.
Slmte i MIL' i. Wion, Liynum Vilx, wh<»
calls Anna v> Duchess of the Venetians."
Mas Latrie, 7'/vW. Bucelinus, M- //.
/>'/(., Nov. 21. Light is thrown on the
customs of Venice at the time, aud the
status of the families of Michieli and
Giustiniani hy Molmouti, Storin ili
\'<ii'::i'i K>ll<i \'i(<i /',-,'/••//</. The Life of
Anna is promised by the Bollandists
when they com*- t i her <l;iv.

B. Anna i 17 i, Mtfob 8. t |L'1L
Of the noble family of Frankeuhof. n.
Cistercian nun at Srefeld ; succeeded l'».
'1 i DE< \ us abbess. In 1241 Conrad of

"\Yiiiterstcttiii built the nunnery of
1'aindt, near the monastery of Weiugar-
ten, in the ancient diocese of Constance,
and thither Anna moved as abbess.
She died 124i, and was succeeded by
Ermengard, daughter of the founder.
Buceliuus, JL'ti. Ben. Migne, Di- /. des
Alilmiji-x. Moustier, Gynecseum. The
accounts of the situation, etc., of the
nunneries do not quite agree.
B. Anna (18), AMICIA.
St. Anna < li'), Duchess of Silesia,
bom ftt Prague, 1204. f 1246. Daughter
of Preuiysi Ottokar I., first king of
Bohemia ( 1 1(JS-12:!<> ), by his second
wife, Constance of Hungary. ST. AGNES
nr 1 >OHEMIA was her sister, ST. ELIZABETH
OF Hi'MjAHY her cousin, ST. ABDELA her
half-sister, ST. HEDWIG her mother-in-
law. Anna married, in 1210, Henry II.,
the pious duke of Silesia ; he was killed
at Legnitz, 1241, in a great battle
against the Tartars, where, although the
Christians were defeated, overpowered
by numbers, they made such a good
fight against the heathens, and inflicted
on them such heavy loss, that the tide of
their invasion was effectually arrested.
St. Anna, St. Hedwig, and all the nuns
of Trebnitz were in the fortress of
Chrosna when the battle was fought.
Anna buried her husband in the Fran
ciscan convent which he had begun to
build at Breslau, and which she finished
after his death. She had six sous and
three daughters. For some particulars
of the Tartar invasion and the battle
of Legnitz, see St. lied wig, duchess of
Silesia. Dlugosch, Hwtoria Polonica.
Palacky, Gcw-hicte von Jlohwen. Stenzol,
,s'iv/y>/"/vx l('i rum Silesise, ii. 127, etc.
A. Knoblich, Herzoyin Anna von »SV///» >•/» //,
I5iv>lau. L665« Anna is called "Blessed"
by several writers, and " Saint " by Mas
Latrie, Tr&or, p. 905.

B. Anna ( 2»> ), April S, of Sehlussel-
bt-i-^. i:;th century. Daughter of
Conrad, barou of Schlusselberg, near
lliiiiiberg, in Frauconia. Anna became
nid abbess of the Cistercian house of
Sfhlusselberg, and, being a woman of
many virtues, received sundry privileges
from lu-r brother-in-law Leopold, bishop
of r,;imberg. When she was dying she
directed that her grave should be left

72

ST. ANNA

open to receive her sister-in-law and
successor, Anna, countess of Zollern,
who would die within a month, which
happened. Henriquez, Lilia CV.v/v/r//,
ii. 250. Bucelinus. Rigollot, in Index
to Boll., AA.SS.

St. Anna (21) of Viterbo, Sept. 21.
T 13(>6. 3rd O.S.D. Worship un
certain.

St. Anna (22 ), Oct. 2. 1338. Duchess
of Tver, and Grand-princess of Russia.
Daughter of Demetrius Borissovitch,
duke of Rostov. Married, c. 12}»4,
Michael Jaroslavitch, duke of Tver,
nephew of St. Alexander Nevski. Her
sister was married to Andrew, grand-
prince of Russia, who died about 121'5.
Michael, duke of Tver, succeeded to the
principality. According to Martinov's
Slavonian Calendar, he was killed in a
glorious battle against the Tartars in
1315. But according to Karamsin's
Histoire de Russia, iv., he survived the
battle. His nephew George, duke of
Moscow, who had married a sister of
Usbek, khan of Tartary, tried to deprive
him of his right. Michael took Moscow,
and carried away George's wife among
the prisoners. Unfortunately, an epi
demic broke out in Tver, and she fell a
victim to it. George accused his uncle
of poisoning her. The grand-prince
had to go to the horde and appear before
the khan to clear himself of the alleged
crime. After undergoing much ill usage,
which he bore with great fortitude and
dignity, Michael was put to death,
Nov. 22, 131!). Some months after
execution his body was brought home,
and found to be in perfect preservation.
It was buried with all honour in the
Kremlin of Moscow, in the monastery of
St. Saviour, on the spot where now
stands the old church of the Transfigura
tion. He was mourned as the friend of
his country throughout all Russia, most
of all in his own dukedom of Tver. He
is honoured as a saint and martyr. The
Duchess Anna took the veil, and so did
Xenia, the virtuous and pious mother of
Michael. Anna removed from Tver to
Kasan, at the request of her son Basil,
and died there in 133S. Her body was
translated into the cathedral in the reign
of Alexander Michaclovitch ( 1 (345- ID 7 • \),

the first of the Romanoffs ; the king
himself carried the venerable corpse.

B. Anna (23 ), April Ki, of Camerino,
O.D.S. f 1 3(59. A native of the march of
Ancona. Mentioned in the Dominican
Martyrology and by various writers of
that order. Jacobilli calls her a nun
famous for sanctity and miracles. Pio,,
KTbmtftt, etc.

B. Anna ("24; of the Cross. K'.th
century. First abbess of the first
nunnery of the Order of the Assumption
of our Lady, otherwise called our Lady
of Mercy. The order was founded for
men, by Peter Nolasca, in 1 235, but had
no communities of women. The first
nunnery was founded at Seville about
1508. (See ST. MARY OF HELP.) Helyot,,
Hist, dcs Ordrcs Monastiques, part iii.
chap. 37.

B. Anna (25) Toschel, Jan. 28,
Nov. in. j- 1 582. A Benedictine abbess
at Riga, who distinguished herself by
her streuous opposition to the Lutheran
and Calvinistic heresies. She lived to
the age of 13o. Bucelinus, Men. Ben.,
Jan. 28, spells her name TOICHEL.
Collin de Plancy, Saintes et Bienltcureuscs^
Nov. 10.

B. Anna (26) de Roussy, founder of
the first convent of Ursulines at Paris,
c. 1612. (Sec ANGELA MEIUCI.) Guene-
bault.

B. Anna (27) of Beaulieu, June 24.
•f Ki 18. GAI.I.IOTA.

Ven. Anna ( 2S) of St. Bartholomew,
June 7. 1 53< >- 1 (528. Born at Almandral,
in Old Castile. Her parents were Fer
nando Garcias and Mary Manganas.
Anna was a Carmelite nun of the re
formed order. One of the first who took
the habit in St. Teresa's monastery of
St. Joseph, at Avila. Her humility
made her a great favourite with Teresa,,
who calls her " a great servant of God,'"
and says that, although only a lay-sister,
she was of more use to her than any of
the other nuns whom she took with her
on her journeys to assist in making re
forms and establishing new monasteries
of the reformed rule. She accompanied
her beloved mistress on many of these
expeditions as her secretary, and attended
her with devoted affection in her last
illness. On October 4, 1582, at Alba.

15. ANNA

78

do Tonnes, Teresa lay the last hour

of her life with her head on Anna's

shoulder, and died in her arms. Having

served her apprenticeship under this

great reformer and founder, Anna went

to France, about 1004, and founded

houses of the same Order of Barefooted

Carmelites at Tours and Pontoise. In

loll she was sent for by Albert and

Isabel, to found ;i monastery at Antwerp.

Tlu-ro sli, r, mained until her death in

1 '"•_»',, four years after the canonization of

her ^mistress, aged seventy-six. The /

vfSt Jaw di' Clmntal, written by her niece

Mother Chaugy, says, " Mother Anne of

St. Bartholomew, who is now held to bo

a saint, hud a vision respecting tho

Congregation of tho Visitation, more

than four years before its foundation.

Madame do Chantal one day told her

that she often wished to enter the Order

of Reformed Carmelites. Anna said,

Wo, St. Teresa will not have you as

her daughter. You will have so many

daughters of your own that you will be

tin- companion of our blessed Mother.

(Jod ha- work for you to do through tho

Bishop of Geneva.' " Anna was regarded

i saint by tho people of Antwerp.

>\ hen her body was laid in the church,

re burial, they came and touched it

With more than twenty thousand rosaries

1 linages. \( xt day the people from

the country round came to honour

' saint and derive some benefit from

touching h,.r saeivd remains. She is not

canonized. Sh« is called " Venerable "

'V Butler and Dalton, also by tho Bol-

fe who relate that her heavenly

'ions twice saved the city of

Antwerp from imminent danger in sieges.

< uliKT, quoting Tenvecorin, Preci*

*>'""/"< *, says that, after her death, the

ttioipal body of Antwerp went every

in procession, carrying candles, to

r Convent, to acknowledge solemnly

owed their deliverance to her

She it mentioned several times

P. reresa's account of her F<.tni,l...

lu 1 735 Clement XH. permitted

ings for her canonization to be

Utinhand. Guerin, Petite Bollandistes

Anna <-•, Toussaint <le Voh

1 aoble family of iJn-tagne,
Jled Sainte Anne, also the

Saint of NY-ant. Neant was her parish
i <!>]>. Morbihan ). She built the hospital
of Ploermel. PftiU HoUan<U*tr*t xv.

B. Anna (:'»•' i Maria Taigi, June 9.
17u'.t-ls:;7. :;rd Order of Trinitarians.
Represented looking up to a sun. Anna
Maria Antonietta Gesulda was born at
Siena. Her father was Luigi Pietro-
Gesulda, a chemist. In 177.") he was
ruined by his own fault. The family,
being reduced to extreme poverty, re
moved on foot to Rome. Gesulda and
his wife became servants. Their little
girl worked in a silk factory. She
married Domeuico Taigi, a servant in
the noble family of Chigi. Anna Maria
was fond of dress and amusement,
especially theatrical entertainments.
These frivolous tastes facilitated the
wicked designs of an old libertine who,
with great patience and cleverness,
pursued her with unholy attentions,
until a day came when her passion for
finery delivered her into his hands.
From that day her existence was em
bittered by shame and regret. The
whole of her after-life was an incessant
penance for this sin. Her husband's
presence was a continual reproach to her,
and she bore all his exactions and
caprices with great humility. She had
four sons and three daughters, whom sho-
brought up very carefully and piously.
She dutifully cared for and waited on
her father and mother as long as they
lived. Sho was naturally inclined to
gluttony, and mortified this temptation
with great ardour and self-denial,
especially by going for days together
without drinking.

In 1 7'. is the Taigi were reduced almosi
to destitution, in consequence of tho
attempt of the French to establish a
republic in Rome, which took away tho
means of subsistence from tho poorer
classes. Tho Chigi were unable to pay
the wages of so many servants, and they
were thrown upon tho charity of those
who had anything left to give.

From the time of her conversion and
tho beginning of her penitent life, Anna
always sa\v before her what sho described
as a sun. It was of tho size that the
real sun in the heavens appears to our
ordinary bight, of extreme brightness,

ST. AXXOFLEDIS

and yet she could look at it, even with
her eye which was nearly blind. In
this sun she saw events past, present,
and future, and sometimes thoughts and
motives. She first saw it while taking
the discipline, and for the rest of her
life it was always before her. She had
frequent ecstasies, during which she was
so insensible to all that went on around
her, that her husband used to shake her
and reproach her with falling asleep in
the midst of her duties, and even at her
prayers. She would never suffer any
one to be spoken ill of in her presence,
and always suggested excuses for those
who had done wrong. She was zealous
in the conversion of the wicked, there
fore some who were pronounced hope
lessly hardened were commended, in
desperation, to her intercession. While
obtaining of God the conversion of a
sinner, she suffered great agony of
body, as well as anguish of mind.
Her charity included condemned crimi
nals, whom she was sometimes successful
in persuading to repentance and con
fession, after priests had been discouraged
by their obduracy. She was much liked
and respected for her piety and her gift
of prophecy by Cardinal Fesch, Napo
leon's uncle, by Marie Louise de Bourbon,
queen of Etruria, by Cardinal Pedicini,
and several other persons of much higher
education and station than herself; but
although she had taken alms when
her family were at the verge of starva
tion, she would never accept from any
of those exalted persons any favours or
benefactions which would in the least
<legreo raise her out of her humble state
of life, and this was for two reasons :
first, she wished to remain independent,
to be always free to speak fearlessly and
truly; secondly, she did not desire to
place within reach of her children
luxuries and leisure which they might
miss when they were grown up. She
feared for them idleness and love of
pleasure ; she thought that if they were
lifted for a time out of the life of toil
and privation to which they were born,
and then dropped back into it, the
remembrance of their temporary ease
and luxury might become a temptation
to them. She died in 1837. Her beati

fication took place in 1 Si i: I, under Pius IX.
Her husband, then a very old man, was
one of the important witnesses on the
occasion. He said that she was a very
good woman ; he as little suspected her
of being a saint as of having ever sinned
against him ; he said he had always
considered her a person of great virtues
and an incomparable wife, but most of
her extraordinary gifts and graces ho
had only heard of since her death. She
was a tertiary of the Order of the Trini
tarians for the Redemption of Captives.

While her canonization was going on,
in 18i)o, her Life was written by Dr.
Luquet, bishop of Hesebon, and during
that time sundry notices appeared in
the Giornale <li Iloma and the Analecta
Juris Pontificii, iii., iv. The author of
Les Mystiques says that her reputation
for sanctity and prophecy was such that
she was the fashion among cardinals
and prelates, and attained a degree of
notoriety and the entree to houses and
society to which her position would not
have entitled her. Dr.Luquet's little book
is the chief authority for this article.

St. Annofledis, Dec. 1 and 7 (AGNE-
FLETTK, LANOFLEDIS, NOFLEDIS, NOFLETE
ONOFLETTE). c. 055. Nun under ST
FAHA. Angels were heard singing at the
moment of her death. Chastelaiu, Voc
Ha>/. Mabillon, AA.SS. O.S.B.

St. Anominata, V. M. Sister 01
ST. COLOMBA OF EVOHA.

Anonymous Saints. Besides the
vast number of saints named in the
various calendars of Christian Churchi
a multitude of others are commeinoratec
whose names are not preserved.

In the Roman Martyroloyy alone there
are more than thirty-six thousand un
named martyrs. Of these, a great numbei
arc women, who perished in the indis
criminate massacre of Christians by
heathens, or of orthodox or Catholic
Christians by heretics. When a whole
family were massacred, the names o:
the men are often mentioned, while
the wives, daughters, or companions
who shared the martyrdom are com
memorated, but not named. Thus we
have, Feb. 15, St. Crato with his wife
and family; Sept. 1, forty virgins arc
honoured at Heracles, disciples anc

ST. . \\SOAIJ)

75

l'« •llo\v-iuiirtyiis of St. Ammon tlio deacon.
< '.i Dec. L'.~> welind that seventy women and
two hundred nu-n were companions of the
martyrdom of ST. A NAM ASIA, early in
the 4th century. ( )n the same day aro
uKo honoured ''many thousands" who
perished about that time, at Xicomedia,
under Diocletian. These Christians had
assembled in church ou Christmas Day.
The Emperor ordered the gates to bo
shut, and tires prepared all round tho
building, trip. .Is with incense being set
before the doors. An officer then pro
claimed, with a loud voice, that whoever
wished to escape had only to come out
and offer incense to Jove. The Christians
all answered with one voice that they
would rather die. So they were burnt
uli\v. and were born in heaven on the
anniversary of the same day that Christ
was born on earth. There occur fre
quently in tho R.M., such entries as
••eii virgins," "forty virgins," "six
sisters," " four hundred martyrs of both

Besides these, there aro the nuns who
followed the precept and example of
ST. EIJISA, their abbess, and obtained
martyrdom by disfiguring themselves
rather than endure desecration from tho
barbarians who attacked their convent.

The legend of ST. UKSCLA and her
eleven thousand virgins of Cologne may
be mentioned, whose story, if mythical,

: very ancient origin.
In addition to the unnamed martyrs,
a number of comparatively obscure per-
aro honoured by writers of saintly
ry, and some of the stories told of
them arc worthy of a place among tho
tic legends of the Middle Ages: tho
llowiugisan example:—
<->n a wide and somewhat dreary plain
in New Castile, not far from tho BOOTOe
the Tagus, stood, in the middle of tho
5th century,a J-nedu-tine nunnery. Its
ioly inmates wen- threatened with cap-
tare by an army of Saracens. The walls
the building, being only of Kuffirirnt
-Hi to withstand the attacks of wild
ta or any chance intruder, could offer
MfoctuaJ reOffcmoe to an armed hand.
1 <" abbess ran- the bell, and, assembling
Bliten in the ehapel. exhorted
to pray that the earth should

swallow them up, rather than that thoy
should fall alive into the hands of the
infidels. Their prayer was -ranted, and
the Saracens, approaching, found nothing
but scanty heath, lavender, and wild
shrubs, where from a distance they had
seen the towers of a stately convent.
While vainly seeking for that which
was no longer to be found, at Vesper-
time they suddenly heard the convent
bells ringing beneath their feet. To
this day shepherds and travellers passing
over the spot at the hours of prayer.
hear the mullled ringing of tho convent
bell and the sweet distant voices of the
nuns singing the office underground.

There are many other nameless soldiers
of the noble army of martyrs, who in
largo and uncertain numbers followed
their leaders of either sex to martyrdom,
and are commemorated with them, but
whoso names, in the words of an old
hagiologist, "are known only to God."

St. Anor, or HONOUIA, de Monte-
bard. 12th and i:!th centuries. Cousin
of St. Bernard. Married a brother of
Hugh de Seiguelay, archbishop of Sens
and Diambert, bead of the Seignelay
family. Her son, William de Seignelay,
was Bishop of Auxerre, 1_!»>7-12LM.
Gall la Cln-isi'mmi. Mas Latrie, 7V

St. Anscrida, April us, V. Wor
shipped with a double office at Xonau-
tula, in Italy, where her body is kept.
It was probably taken there from one of
tho Koman cemeteries. AA.SS. Boll.,

St. Ansitrudis, AISTUI-DK.

St. Ansoald, Aug. 1>4, V. at Mau-
beuge. 1 1 tli century. B. Theodoric,
abbot of Andagin or Audain, in the
forest of Ardennes in Belgium, was
vowed t;> a religious life. by his mother
in his childhood. His father was very
angry, and insisted that he should bo
brought up as a soldier. The child broke
liis arm and was nearly killed, whereupon
his father gave him up to his mother,
saying that if it were God's will that ho
should be a monk, he would recover.
She tended him so well that ho did
recover, and then she confided him to
her daughter Ansoald, in tho convent of
Maubeugo, to be taught his letters and
the Psalter. Ausould was a woman of

76

ST. ANSOMIA

great piety and very dirty. She in
structed and tended her little brother
with gentleness and diligence. She died
of cancer. Boll., AA.SS., inter Prse-
termissos.

St. Ansomia, June 4, M. Same as
AUSONIA, June 2, M. at Lyons.

St. Anstrude, AUSTKUDE.

St. Anstruse, AUSTKVDE.

St. Antea, ANTHIA.

St. Antha, Dec. 12, M., with AMMO-
NAJMA.

St. Anthia, April 18 (ANCIA, ANTEA,
ANTIA), M. at Home or Messina, with
her son, St. Eleutherius, Bishop, perhaps,
of Illyricum. She is said to have been
contemporary with the Apostles and to
have seen St. Paul ; but the Acts of St.
Eleutherius, on which the story rests, are
pronounced by Papebroch to be apocry
phal. EJL Boll., AA.SS. Martin.

St. Anthilia, Sept, 24, 25 (ANTHILLA,
ANTILIA), V. M. at Arezzo, in Tus
cany.

St. Anthilia, ANTHILIA.

St. Anthusa(l), or DOMNINA, March
20. Nero, angry at the success of ST.
PHOTINA'S preaching at Carthage, ordered
her and her five sisters to bo taken to
a golden chamber, seven golden chairs
and a table to be placed there, and his
daughter Domnina, with a hundred fol
lowers, to go in and talk to these Chris
tian women. Domnina and her attendants
were speedily converted. She was bap
tized by Photina, and took the name of
Anthusa (sometimes given to Photina
herself). There are several saints of
the names of Domnina and Anthusa
honoured in the Church on various days,
but it is not recorded that any one of
them was daughter of Nero.

Henschenius and Papebroch give the
story in the Life of St. PJivtina, from
some old Greek Act*, but do not consider
it probable. Boll., AA.SS.

St. Anthusa (2 ), Aug. 22. Time of
Valerian. 4th century. Called in
Roman Martyrology Anthusa the Elder.
A woman of Seleucia. Daughter of rich
idolaters. She took her two servants,
Charisius and Xeophytus, and left her
home, pretending she was going to visit
her nurse, but took the road to Tarsus,
where she wanted to go and be baptized.

St. Athanasius, bishop of that city, was
brought by an angel to meet her on the
road. There was no water to be had, so
he prayed and brought water out of the
ground, wherewith he baptized Anthusa
and her two servants. She then re
turned to her mother's house, but was
refused admittance ; so she betook her
self to a solitary life in the desert, and
lived among the beasts for twenty-three
years, and then died in peace. Meantime
SS. Athanasius, Charisius, and Neophytus
were taken by Valerian and put to death.
All four are commemorated together.
Anthusa is called "Martyr" in the-
Roman Martyrology. AA.SS.

St. Anthusa (3) the Younger, Aug.
27, M. Clothed in a rough and ragged
garment and thrown into a well. Wor
shipped in Sicily. R.M. Piuius, in
AA.SS.

St. Anthusa (4), July 27, V. 8th
century. Abbess of Constantinople.
She dedicated herself to an ascetic
religious life, after the example of St,
Sisinnus, and founded two religious
houses, one for men and the other for
women; she herself presided over the
latter. In the iconoclastic persecution,
the Emperor Constantino Copronymus,
hearing that Anthusa and her nuns wor
shipped images, sent for her. She was
brought to trial with her nephew, who-
had succeeded Sisinnus in the care of the
monastery. Anthusa was subjected to
many tortures, and would perhaps have
been put to death, but it happened that
the empress was at the point of death in
child-birth. Anthusa prophesied for
her a safe delivery of twins — a son and
daughter. As this presently proved
true, the saint was liberated, and taken
into great favour by the empress. The
girl was called after Anthusa and edu
cated by her, and is commemorated
April 17. R.M. AA.SS.

St. Anthusa (5), April 17. 8th
century. A benevolent and pious prin
cess. Daughter of Constantino V. (Co-
pronymousj. Named after and educated
by ST. ANTHUSA (4). Founded the first
orphan asylum in the Christian world.
Finlay, l>ij::<mttn<' L'////-/'/v, p. 81. Hen
schenius. Boll., AA.SS.

St. Anthusa (C;, Feb. 22. A Grecian

B. AXTONIA

77

lady put to tho sword with her twelve
servants. Henschenius. Boll., AA.> ^

St. Anthusa i 7 >, mother of ST.
AKTHKI.I.AIS.

B. Anthusa (8), Jan. 27. 4th cen
tury. Mother of St. Chrysostom.
StJidler.

St. Antia, ANTHIA.

St. Antiga, Feb. 22, M. at Xico-
meiliii, witli SS. VICTORINA, PAULA, EME-
KITA. A ST.. MAN A, DATIVA, ROGATIANA,
UUIIANA. MAXIMA, MARINA, MATKONA aud
her daughter PEKEGHINA, SEcr.sDri.A,
.II-TA, CASTULA, MAHCELLINA, CASTA,
DMNMI -LA, LIBOSA, FLAVIA, DOTA, Fru-
. uii.l K'KGINA (3). Many Christians
were martyred at Xicomedia, in Bithynia,
at different times. Ten thousand are
commemorated on one day in the Greek
calendars and .'5628 on another. Whether
the few whose names are here preserved
are amongst the same, or were slain at
other times, we do not know. Heu-
schenius. AA.SS.

St. Antigone (1), Feb. 27, M. at
Home. AA.SS.

St. Antigone (2) of Panuonia, Feb.
28, M. Perhaps the same as the
above.

Antilia, ANTHILIA.

St. Antiquiora, Aug. :n, M. at
Ancyra, in Galatia. 4.4.$$.

SS. Antonia (I ) and Tertulla,
April 2'.', VV. MM. Consecrated virgins,
rat to death at Cirtha, in Xnmidia, with
Jfi Agapius and Secundinus, bishops,
win » had long been in exile there; also
\omilianus, a soldier; and a woman
with her twin children. li.M. AA.SS.

St. Antonia ('2 >, May 4, M. at Xico
media, in Bithynia. Mentioned in tho
Martyrology of St. Jrrumc. She was hung
np hy one arm for three days, kept in
prison for two years, and then burned to
Henschenius thinks she may
possibly bo tho same as ANTONINA (1).
8.M. AA.SS.

St. Antonia (3\ One of the
martyrs of Lyons, who died in prison.

S'' • I5\I.I:IN.\.

St. Antonia (4), June 4. Com
memorated with TBOPHONIA. AA.SS.
St. Antonia (5), April 12, M.

1 . 1 . .s ,s'.

B. Antonia («)), ANK.INMIE, or

AMOMKTTA, Feb. 2S, April 7. 1401-
1472. O.S. F. A native of Florence.
She was still very young when left a
willow with one son. She took the veil
in Florence, in tho convent of Sant'
Ouofrio, of cloistered nuns of tho Third
Order of St. Francis. B. ANGELINA
CORBAHA was founder and superior of
all the cloistered tertiaries. In 1430
she set Antonia over her head convent
of ST. ANNA, at Foligno, where she
formed a great friendship with B. PAULA.
In 14.'W Angelina sent them to Aquila
to found two convents of the observance.
Autonia became superior of ST. ELIZA
BETH'S. While she was there Angelina
died, and was succeeded by B. MAH-
GAUET of Foligno. Through St. John
of Capistrano, vicar-general of tho ob
servance, who visited Aquila at the time,
A iitouia obtained the monastery of Corpo
di Cristo, or the Holy Eucharist, which
had just been built at Aquila for another
order. She settled there in 1447, with
twelve nuns of her order, to follow, in
all its rigour, the first rule of ST. CLARA.
In this monastery Paula died. Autonia
soon had to enlarge the house. Her
son and her other relations came
troubling her with their worldly affairs,
which was a trial to her. She ruled
here for seven years, and died Feb. 28,
1472, aged seventy - one. Her body
lay in the church there for over four
centuries, with the limbs supple, the
eyes open, and every appearance of life.
In 1847 Pius IX. approved her im
memorial worship. Her feast is only
kept in her own order. A.R.M. Romano-
'/>///<•, April 7. Jacobilli, Saints of
/'//>/'/•/". Loon, Aureol<> di- Sninte Claire.
Collin do Plancy gives her day as
Feb. 29,

B. Antonia 1 7 ) Guaineri, Oct. 27.
O.S.D. 1407-1507. Xuu in tho Do
minican convent of ST. CATHERINE THE
M\I:TYU, in Brescia. While very young,
she was reproved one day by tho choir-
mistress for not singing loud enough.
Hither not understanding how to modu
late her voice, or being a little obstinate,
she did not obey. To teach her sub
mission, she was stripped down to her
waist, und whipped in presence of tho
nuns in the chapter. She became a

78

R. AXTOXIA

pattern nun. At sixty-six she was sent
with others to reform the convent of St.
Catherine at Ferrara. There she was
unanimously chosen prioress. She
governed so well that that convent was
soon remarkable for sanctity, and several
of her nuns were sent to reform other
convents. Several of them are num
bered among the saints ; they are BB.
VERONICA, who died July (>, 1511 ; CE
CILIA, who died 1511; ANGELA (»',)
SERAFIXA, who died 1512; PAULA SPEZ-
ZANI, who died Aug. IS, 1 501* ; PERPETUA
SAUDI; and COSTANZA. Antonia was
humble arid self-denying, but strict, and
at one time some discontented subordi
nates succeeded in deposing her ; but
the old nuns remonstrated, and had her
reinstated. She died in 1507, at the
age of a hundred, and was honoured
thenceforth as a saint. AA.SS. Eazzi,
Prediction. Pio, Uomini Uliistri per
Santiia.

B. Antonia (S), or ANTOINETTE
D'ORLEANS, April 22. -fKUS. Marquise
do Belle Isle. Founder of the Bene
dictines of Mount Calvary. She was
(laughter of the Duke of Longueville,
and related to the royal family of France.
She married the Marquise de Belle Isle,
eldest son of the Duke of Retz, and was
left a widow while still young and beau
tiful. She took the veil, at the age of
twenty-seven, in a Cistercian monastery
at Toulouse, where she was buried. She
founded the nunnery of SS. MARY and
SCHOLASTIC A, at Poitiers, and, on be
coming abbess there, restored the primi
tive strictness of the rule of St. Benedict.
The members of this reformed rule are
called the Congregation of Benedictine
Nuns of Mount Calvary. Guenebault,
Diet. (Vlcon. AA.SS., April 22, Prseter.
Butler's Lives, note to " St. Benedict,"
March 21. Henriquez, Lil'ut.

St. Antoniana^M. with ST. ANTIGA.

St. Antonina (\), May :;, V. M.
Called " the Disguised," to distinguish
her from two other martyrs of the same
name. Represented wearing a veil, to indi
cate disguise. At Constantinople, in the
persecution under Diocletian and Maxi-
mian, c. :>on, she was condemned by
Festus, the governor, to the lowest de
gradation. Alexander, a soldier, changed

clothes with her, and thus enabled her
to escape from the infamous place in
which she was. Both were taken, their
hands cut off, and they were burned to
death.

The story of SS. THEODORA and
Diclymus is almost identical with this ;
the incident, in their case, happened at
Alexandria during the same persecution.
St. Ambrose, writing in the 4th century,
tells the story with some amplifications,
laying the scene at Antioch. He says
that the young woman, being ordered
to choose between abjuring her religion
and being sent to the hipanar, said,
" What I lose by force and .against my
will is not my sin, and my Lord will
not account me polluted if my heart
is pure, but if I renounce Him and
sacrifice to idols, that which I keep at
such a price will profit me nothing.'*
So they took her to a place resorted
to by the wicked. One of her guards
changed clothes with her, and she es
caped in safety. Soon afterwards some
wicked men came into the room where
she had been, and finding a man in her
stead, thought the place was bewitched.
They said, " Did not the governor send
a woman hero in this very dress ? AVhcv
knows what metamorphosis may befall
us if we stay? Let us escape out of
this house while we know what we are.'*
The pious fraud was soon discovered
The soldier was brought before th(
governor, who condemned him to death
for aiding the escape of a prisoner undei
his care. The Christian maiden, hear
ing of it, came and begged to be put to
death instead. The governor secrnec
willing to consent. The soldier, how
ever, entreated that the sentence already
pronounced against him might be exe
cuted, and the woman liberated. The
governor said that as they were so
anxious to die they might be gratified
Accordingly both were burnt. li.M
Golden L<'<i<'i«l.

Quintaduenas says Alexander anc
Autonina were natives of Ocana, neai
Madrid, and suffered about the year loo
The Spanish and other hagiologista
occasionally claim as compatriots the
saints and martyrs who have become
popular among them ; this doubtless

ST. APHRODISIA

79

gives rise, in soraer cases, to a multi
plication of saints.

St. Antonina (2), June li', 3L at
.-i, in Hithynia. In the persecution
under Diocletian and Maximian, she was
scourged, hung on the equulcns, her
sides torn with hooks, burnt with lamps,
and finally killed with a sword. R.M.
AA.SS.

St. Antonina (3) of Cea, March 1, M.
I.' presented with a barrel near her, or
being put into a cask or sack.

Said by the Spanish hagiographers
to have been born at Cea, in the pro
vince of Beira, in Portugal. Accused of
deriding tho gods, she was tortured in
various ways, then shut up in a vessel
and drowned in a lake near Cea, under
Diocletian. She is one of tho most
popular of the Portuguese saints. This
rhyme is common among tho peasants
of the province, and refers to her —

" Antonina pcquena,
Dos olhos grandcs,
Mntarao-na idolatras
E fVros gigantes."

"Idolaters and savage giants killed
little Antonina of tho large eyes."

St. Antonina (.'}) is given in the Roman
fartyrolot/y. According to Henschenius,
LA.SS.1 this is no other than St. Anto-
ina of Nicea, in Bithynia ; her worship
was introduced into tho Latin Church
rom the Greek, in tho liJth century;
ud tho word " Cea " has been introduced
y mistake for " Xicea " by some of the
opyists of old calendars. Antonina of
;i has also been set up as another
aint of the island of Cea, or Ceo.

St. Antonina (4), May 7, M. in
Vfrica. AA.SS.

St. Antonina i '» ), June 2. One of
tan martyrs commemorated this
ay in St. Jerome's .I/"/-////-"/"-///. AA.SS.

St. Anysia (I), Dec. :io. +304.
. M. A young lady of Thessalonica,
'ho was so hi-iiutiful and had such
uantitics of money, slaves, jYwrls, and
11 kinds of splendid things, that she
new not what to do. She said to her-

]t'- " How can I I..- MIV, I \\-ith all this
ealth 'i " One Sunday, during tin-
ersecution under Diocletian, as sh« WBB
"ing througli the Cassandrioto Gate on

her way to church, or to the secret
meeting-place of the Christians, she met
a soldier, who rudely stopped her, and
asked where she was going. In her
fright she made tho sign of tho cross.
He thought she was making game of
him, seized hold of her, and insisted on
having an answer. She said, "I am a
servant of Christ, and I am going to my
Lord's assembly." " I will not let you
go there," said the soldier. "I will
take you to pour a libation to tho gods,
for to-day we worship tho sun." As she
tried to get away from him, ho pulled
her veil, and rudely touched her face.
" May Christ Jesus rebuke thee, devil ! "
cried the maiden, angry and terrified.
The soldier drew his sword, and plunged
it in her side. She fell, and all the
ground was stained with her blood.
The crowd first pitied her youth, and
then abused her for contemning the gods.
The Christians buried her two stadia
from that gate, and when the persecution
was over, they built a house of prayer
on the spot, to the left of tho public
road. Such is the story given by Simeon
Metaphrastes, Migne's edition, iii. 747.
It is also in Surius, Baronins, the 3/lrno-
%// of the Emperor Basil, Butler, Mar
tin. etc.

St. Anysius, bishop of Thessalonica^
is commemorated with St. Anysia. ( li. M.
and Greek Synni-ary. ) Baring-Gould,.
Lives, says Anysius received his name
from the circumstance of Auysia's mar
tyrdom being fresh in the memory of
the Christians of Thessalonica when he
was born. Ho was bishop there at the
time of the memorable massacre under
Theodosius the Great, in consequence of
which St. Ambrose forbade that Emperor
to enter the church at Milan, in 889.

St. Anysia (2), Dec. :u, M., is
said by tho Bollandists, Grxco-SInr.
('>i/> mltir, to mean ANASTASIA ; but this
compiler ventures to think it is ANYSIA
( 1 i.

St. Apersia, July L>:,. Commemo-
in the Arctbico-Egyptian M<irtyro-

St. Aphra, An;\.

St. Aphrodisia, Nov. 5. There was
a church in her honour at Bezicrs,
where St. Gerald, bishop of Bcziers,

ST. APHTE

chose to be buried in 112.'f Baring-
Gould, Lives of the Saints, " St. Gerald."

St. Aphte, A<;ATHA.

St. Apollinaris (1), Aug. 2;J. M.
with St. Timothy at Rheims, in Gaul.
B.M.

St. Apollinaris (2) Syncletica,
Jan. 5. Early in the 5th century.
Daughter of Anthemius, who is called
by Metaphrastes, Emperor; but Mr.
Baring-Gould considers it'iuore probable
that he was grandfather of the Emperor
-of that name, and held the office of
consular prefect of Rome and regent
during the minority of Theodosius the
Younger. Having obtained her parents'
permission to make a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, she there liberated all the
slaves who had been sent with her, keep
ing in her service only one eunuch and
an old man to arrange her tent. One
night, having gone into her tent as
usual, her two servants sleeping outside,
she put on a hermit's habit, which she
had procured in Jerusalem for the pur
pose, and fled silently into the desert.
"When her servants, aided by the gover
nor of the place where they were, had
sought her in vain, they returned to her
parents, who supposed she had taken
refuge from the world in some sister
hood of holy women. Meantime, Apol
linaris betook herself to St. Macarius of
Alexandria, who lived in the desert of
Scete, at the head of a large community
of recluses in cells and caves. Having
cut off her hair, and being by this time
much tanned and disfigured by exposure
to hardships, hunger, and the Egyptian
sun, she easily passed for a man, and
spent many years among the brethren
under the name of Dorotheus. Authe-
inius had another daughter, who was
possessed of a devil, and as he had
'heard of the sanctity and miracles of
St. Macarius, he sent her to him to be
-cured. Macarius handed her over to
Dorotheus, who said that God had not
conferred on him the gift of miracles,
and begged the good abbot not to give
the young women into his charge.
Macarius insisted, and the girl was shut
up with Dorotheus in his cell for some
days, that he might cast out the devil
.by prayer and fasting. After a time,

the daughter of Anthemius was sent
home cured. A few mouths afterwards
she became dropsical. Her parents,
believing her to be pregnant, and turn
ing a deaf ear to her denial, insisted so
vehemently on knowing who was her
seducer, that at last she said it was
Dorotheus, in whose cell she had spent
some days. Anthemius therefore sent
to St. Macarius, and requested an inter
view with the guilty Dorotheus. The
monks were horrified at the charge
brought against their brother ; but Doro
theus said, "Fear not, brethren, God
will reveal my innocence.1' When Apol
linaris was brought into the presence of
Anthemius, she told him she was his
lost daughter. He rejoiced greatly to
see her again. When she had stayed a
short time with her parents, and had by
her prayers obtained her sister's cure,
she returned to the desert. The Ji'.J/.
says that her illustrious actions are
praised by St. Athanasius. Boll.,
AA.SS. Her story, as told by Meta-
phrastep, is given by Baring-Gould,
Lives of the Saint*.

St. Apollonia (1), Feb. si, is called
in French APPOLINE, V. M. at Alexan
dria, 249. Patron against toothache and
diseases of the teeth. Represented
bound to a pillar, having her teeth pulled
out, or holding a tooth in pincers. After
the murder of ST. QUIXTA (q.v.\ the!
mob pillaged the houses of the Christians/
burning what they did not carry away,
so that the city looked like a place
taken by storm. After this they seized
•' that admirable and aged virgin Apol
lonia ; " and first they broke all her
teeth with heavy blows, then they kindlec
a great fire, and told her she should
be thrown into it unless she would
repeat their blasphemies. At first she
seemed to hesitate ; then, taking courage,
she leapt into the fire, and became a
burnt sacrifice to the Lord. ( Crake,
llixt. of tlr Church, quoting a letter oi
Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, describ
ing the seventh persecution.)

Suicide and courting martyrdom and
persecution have been repeatedly com
tlemued by the Church in all age£
and decrees have been made forbidding
the honours of martyrs to those who

ST. AQt'ILIXA

81

voluntarily sought them ; but St. Apol-
lonia has always bccu ranked among
the martyred Saints.

This persecution is described in a
letter (preserved by Eusebius) from St.
Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, to
Fabius, Bishop of Antioch. It was not
commanded by the Emperor Philip, who
favoured the Christians, but was an out
break of ill feeling on the part of tho
Alexandrians, stirred up to hostility
against the Christians by a poet and
soothsayer.

//..I/. Villegas. Tillemont. Baillet,
Callot. Husonbeth.

Her apocryphal Act*, given by Bol-
landus, place her martyrdom in the time
of Julian the Apostate, who kills her
with his own hand.

B. Apollonia < 2), Sept. 1<), 1022. M.
A widow, aged sixty, descended from
the Kings of Firando. She lived with
MAKV M"ii; AYAMA, and was put to death
with her and LUCY FUKITAS ( q.v.). Apol-
lonia's nephew, Gasper Cotenda, and
his son Francis were martyred next
day.

St. Appamia. 31. with ST. JULIA
of Troyes.

St. Apphia, or APPIA (1), Nov. 22, M.
1st century: \.Yifo of St. Philemon, a
citizen of Colosse. The Epistle of SS.
Paul and Timothy concerning Onesimus
is addressed to Philemon and " our bo-
loved Apphiu." In the Roman Catholic
version she is called, " Appia, our dearest
sister." The liomnn Martyroloyy and
the Greek menologies say SS. Philemon
and Apphia, disciples of St. Paul, suf-
i martyrdom at Colosse in Phrygia.
AVI ion, on the festival of Diana, tho
heathen invaded the churches and some
Christians fkd, these two were scourged
by order of Articles, the prefect, and
afterwards buried up to their waists in
tho ground, and stoned to death in that
<1< 1- nceless condition. More modern
writers say the manner of their death
appears to indicate that it was per].. -
t rat «d by ;i moh, in a riot, and not by
legal trial and sentence. Tradition
makes St. Philemon liishop of Gaza.
The M> nnln-iy «f Until ])hu-,( s tho martyr
dom at EpheetH, Baillct, I'/. *. Phi'lc-
mou 1'.

St. Appia (i ), AITHIA.

St. Appia (2), June 1, M. with ST.

AUCEGA. ,/L-I.>V

St. Appia (:]), June 2<>, M. at
Corinth. ^Ll.Nv

St. Appoline, APOLLONIA.
St. Apra, AFRA.

St. Aprincia, or PKECE, June L'L', 25,
V. Abbess of Epinal on tho Moselle,
loth century. Her relics were kept in
the monastery of St. Clement at Metz
(Metis). Papebroch could ascertain
nothing of her date or history, and sus
pected she in it/lit be the same as APHO
NIA, July 15. AA.SS. Stadler.

St. Apronia, or EVKONIA, July 15,
Sept. 15. 5th century. Invoked by
women in labour and other danger.
Born at Troyes, in Champagne. Sister
of St. Apere, or Epirns (in French Evre),
Bishop of Toul. AA.SS., July 15.
I'.aillet, in the Life of St. Evre, Sept. 15.
Prtifi Jiollandistcs.

St. Apt, or APHTE, Feb. 5. ST.
AGATHA is worshipped under this name
in Provence, and a town is called after
her.

St. Aquila, Jan. 2:5, M. with SS.
Severian her husband, and Florus their
son ; they were burnt at Xeo-Ciesarea,
anciently Jol, on tho coast of Mauri
tania. M<i /•////•"/«/// i>i' Salitbury. Boll.,
AA.SS. li.M.

St. Aquilina (1), Jan. 22, M. 291.
Mother of St. Victor, a priest or deacon,
who for the crime of showing hospi
tality to the martyrs SS. Vincent and
Oronto,had his arms cut ott" by the elbows^
and was then beheaded. His father,
although a Christian, was going to fleo
from the persecutors, but at the entreaty
of Aquiliua, ho remained at home, where
thoy were both soon put to death with
another eon. These events took placo
either at Gerunda(Gerona in Catalonia),
or at Pax Augusta ( Badajoz ), or Pax
Julia ( Bojaj. Tho relics of all these
martyrs were removed to Ebrodunum
i Kmhruii, Alpcs Maritimcs, in France).
I5«»llaiidu.s, AA.SS. Cahier, Caractdr-
ittiguei \ <><•. (irouix-*.

St. Aquilina (2), June 1:5, V. M.
293, Daughter of Christians at Byblus,
the place called in the Old Testament
Gcbal, the city of the Giblites, a very

o

82

ST. AQUILIXA

ancient city of Phoenicia and a chief seat
of the licentious worship of Adonis. The
votaries of this horrible religion and the
priests who profited by it wore bitterly
opposed to Christianity, and although
there was at this time no general per
secution of the Church, there were al
ways laws and customs that could be
brought into play by malice or greed.
The priests were incensed to find that
Aquilina, an orphan, scarcely twelve
years old, was converting many of her
companions and the women with whom
she came in contact in her daily work,
and was constantly speaking against the
religion of the place. So when Volusian,
the proconsul, came to Byblus, they ac
cused her of impiety. He had her ar
rested. When she was brought into his
presence he was touched with compassion
at the sight of her youth and beauty and
her fragile appearance, and besought her
to renounce her dangerous opinions, as
the least of the tortures to which she
might be subjected would certainly de
stroy her life at once. She answered
that she did not want his pity, and
would gladly suffer tortures and deatli
for the sake of her Master. Ho then
ordered the executioners to beat her with
their hands, and asked her how she liked
this first and least of the torments. "As
little," said she, " as you spare the
Christians, will the God of the Christians
spare you." Then he caused her to be
stripped of her clothes, and held by two
of the executioners, while a third beat
her with a scourge ; at the same time
Volusian said to her, " Where is this
God of yours, who will not spare me ? "
Other tortures and insults were heaped
upon the brave little girl, and at last red-
hot awls were driven into her ears to
burn the brain, the smoke came out at
her nostrils, and the pain was so great
that she fell lifeless to the ground.
Volusian commanded that she should not
be buried, but cast out to be eaten by
dogs and unclean beasts ; so her body
was tin-own into the road outside the gate
of the town. But she was not dead, and
as she lay an angel touched her and
bade her arise and go back to the city
and address a final remonstrance to her
tyrant. She arose, gave thanks to God

for her recovery, and then kneeled down
and prayed, " Lord, I hoped yesterday
that I was counted among Thy martyrs.
Thou kuowest that I suffered pain and
shame for Thee, and was willing to suffer
even unto death. Lord, let me not lose
my crown." Then she was comforted ;
and, in obedience to the angel, returned
to the town. She went through the gates,
passed the guards unnoticed, and walked
into the room where Volusian lay asleep.
He awoke and saw a small white ghostly
creature in the room. In his fright he
called to his servants to bring a light,
and asked who had disturbed him. They
said, ." It is the Christian maiden that
you killed yesterday, and cast out for
the dogs to eat." Then Aquiliua said,
" Volusian, my God sends me back to
warn you again that you cease from per
secuting His servants. If you will still
repent, you may be as one of us ; but if
not, know that our God will punish you
with everlasting torments greater than
those you inflict upon us." " Take her
away," said Volusian ; " keep her safely
until it is day." In the morning he
tried again to persuade her to apostatize.
Finding his efforts vain, he condemned
her to be beheaded. She kneeled down
and died praying, untouched by the exe
cutioner, and the Christians took her
away and buried her. EM. and AA.SS.,
from ancient Acts given in Greek and
Latin by Henscheuius.

St. Aquilina (:J), March :{u, V. M.
AA.SS.

St. Aquilina (4), July 2<5, M. Be
headed in Lycia. Disciple of St. Chris
topher. Scr Xll'HTA. E.M.

St. Aquilina ('»). See AIMHAXGELA
]>E PIM-:<;XACHIS.

St. Arabia, March i:-J. Burnt at
Nicea, with ST. THEUSETA and others,
/i'. M. Henschenius, AA.SS. ST. AUIAMA
is possibly the same.

St. Araclea, or HEKACLEA, Sept. 2D.
The first name in a list of martyrs in
Thrace. It is uncertain whether Araclea
is a place or a person. AA.SS.

St. Aradegundis, liAi>i:<;t-.M>.

St. Aragond, IIAIH-:<;UXI>.

St. Aragone, KAPKCH-ND.

B. Archangela (1) de Pregna-
chis, M. Said to have been a martyr at

ST. ARMA(ilLl)

83

Brescia, in tin- 2nd century. ST. AQUI-
I.INA (.'>') was her fellow-Christian and
martyr. Their story was considered by
I'.ollaiidists unworthy of attention, being
found only in a fabulous martyrology of
Bresci*.

B. Archangela (2) Girlani, Jan. 2:.,

. Feb. U, li», June 1, '27. f i:'(il-
Superior <if the convent of St. Mary of
Paradise at 3Iantua : it was called Little
Carmol. Her penitence and asceticism
w« re wonderful. Her holiness was at
tested by miracles. Her worship was
authorized by Louis Gonzaga, Bishop of
3Iantua, and his successors. Her Life,
in Italian, by Guastalla, was printed in
Slu- is commemorated in the
A.ll.M. for th<> Order of ,S';. Miry <f
Mount 6 '"/•///</, Jan. _•">, Feb. 0; in that
for the Barefooted Carmelites, Jan. 2s,
Feb. lit. AA.SS., Prosier., June 1. Stad-
ler gives the date of her death as 14 > .

St. Archelaa, or AKQUKLAIS, Jan. 1 s,
V. 31. :Jrd century. Took refuge with
SS. THKCI.A and SUSANNA, at Nola, in
Campania; they wore all martyred at
rno. AA.SS. in SS. Cesarius and
Julian, Nov. 1.

St. Archelais, Oct. 2H, M. at Antioch
in Syria, with SS. Marianus and Sma-
ragdus. Mentioned in the apographs of
St. Jerome. Pi-tit* Hulldmltxtrs.

St. Archiroga, Jan. 22, is mentioned
in the Mart, llirli, as a saint of

Spoleto.

St. Arddun Benasgell. <'»th cen
tury. Sister of St. Dunawd, husband of
St. Dwywe. Wife of I:rochwel Ysy-
throg, son of a Prince of Powis. In the
war against the Northumbrians, Brochwel
was left to defend the monks, who wen
praying at u distance from the main
body of the army. Kthelfrid, King of
Northumberland, unexpectedly attacked
the monies and > mid defeated

them. It i< said that some Welsh
church, ^ were dedicated in her name,
but their plaee is not now known. !,'•

* />•// Stiinfs, p. L'I 17.

St. Areapila is honoured a
Subert as one of the eleven thousand
virgins <>f Cologne, (in.'iii;.

St. Aregundis, I;AI.I:«;I-M..
f St. Arema, June «',, M. at Home.
rin.

St. Aretina, ABTBNA.

St. Argentea of Andalusia, May i:{,
M. in «.':; 1, at Cordova, witli St. Yulfurus,
a Frenchman. They are represented
together. Cahier, Groupts. Pah-xtm
flfagrrodo, i.

St. Ariaba, 31. Possibly the same
as AIJ.M'.IA.

St. Ariadne, Sept. 17, 31. Repre
sented hiding in a rock from her pursuers.
In the reign of Adrian or Antoninus
Pius, she was a servant of Tertillus, at
Prymuesia, in Phrygia. She was cruelly
beaten and sent away because she refused
to join an idol festival in honour of the
birthday of her master's son. After
wards she was brought before the prefect
and put to the torture, to induce her to
sacrifice to the gods. Being set at
liberty, she fled to the hills, but was
pursued by soldiers. Seeing no help or
chance of rescue, she cried to God to
deliver her. A rock opened, admitted
her, and closed again. Thus she re
ceived her martyrdom and her tomb at
the same moment, praising and giving
God thanks. Her pursuers were killed
by an apparition of angels sitting on
horses and holding spears. Stilting,
AA.SS. R.M. Jiloif. Eccle*.

St. Ariene is honoured in Ethiopia.
Same as IHKNK. Guerin.

St. Arild, or AKII.A, Oct. 30, V. 31. of
virginity, at Kingtou, near Thornbury.
She is commemorated at Gloucester,
Oct. 30. The church of Oldbury, in
( iloueestershire, IK dedicated in her name.
Victor de Duck, in AA.SS., from Leland
and others. Memorial of British Pi< ///,
supplement. Parker's C<il<>nd<(r. 1
is supposed to be the date of her trans
lation to St. Peter's Abbey at Gloucester.
Her martyrdom probably occurred very
much earlier. Kekcnstein.

St. Ariotrudis, KI;I:M KI I.K.

SS. Arisima and Agaieta. Same

/is Kii'siMA and GAIANA.

St. Arixa, July 2, 31. at Homo or in

St. Armagela, or AKMI-I, Oct. 24.
According to 3Ias Latrie, 7'/ vW, she
\\a< a servant at Vienne, but she is

probably the same as A KMKI. i.\.

St. Armagild, Aug. 27.
Bdlandittes.

84

ST. ARMATA

St. Armata, Feb. 14. M. at Alex
andria, with many others. Henschenius,
in AA.SS.

St. Armella, Oct. 24 ( ARMKL, AKMF-
GELA). "J" 1(571 . Represented sitting on
the floor in a kitchen, with cooking
utensils in her hands.

Daughter of pious peasants at
Kampeneac, in Brittany. At twenty she
went to be nursery-maid in the neigh
bouring town of Plormel. When one of
her master's daughters married a noble
man, Armella went to be her maid. At
sixty she had her leg broken by a kick
from a horse. Long before sho was
sufficiently recovered to walk, she sat in
a corner of the kitchen to look to the
housekeeping, and do what she could for
her master and mistress. Ott, Die
Lencnde.

St. Arminia ( 1 ), March 20, is men
tioned, among other martyrs, this day, in
some old martyrologies. A A.SS., Prsetcr.

St. Arminia ('2;, or MAHIMINIA,
May 28, M. in Africa. AA.SS.

St. Arminia (3), April 19, M. at
Melitina, in Armenia. AA.SS.

St. Arndrude, EHEXTRUDE.

SS. Aroa, or ROA, and Lucy. See
CYPRILLA.

St. Arquelais, ARCHELAA.

St. Arsenia, HEREXIA.

Arsima and her mother, Agatha,
are mentioned in the Coptic calendar,
Sept. 2(>. AA.SS.

St. Artemia (1), or ARTHEMIA, Aug.
s, 16. Daughter of the Emperor Dio
cletian and ST. SERENA. Artemia was
delivered from a devil by St. Cryia-
cus, who afterwards baptized her. She
was killed by the Emperor Maximian
after the martyrdom of Cyriacus. Her
body is supposed to be in the church of
St. Silvester, in the Campus Martins, at
Rome. Artemia appears as a saint in
Greven's Calendar, but her worship has
never been generally recognized through
out the Church. AA.SS.

SS. Artemia ( 2 ) and Attica, Feb.
1 x, YV. Daughters of Gallicanus, who
was to have married ST. CON STANCH.

St. Artemia (3) t»tli century.
Abbess of (,'utcclar, in Spain. One of
her nuns was ST. MAKY, fellow-martyr
of ST. FLORA. Baillct, ! * 9.

St. Artemidos. Patron of weakly
children in Scio, one of the Cyclades.
J. Theodore Bent, " Old Mythology in
New Apparel," Macmillan'l ILnjazinc,
March, issr>.

St. Artena, or ARETIXA, of Tuderto,
Jan. 2<». f 303. She buried St.
Seustio, martyr of Todi, and honoured
him by building a church over his grave.
Jacobilli, Saints of Uml>ri<f, iii. 2»>3.

St. Arthella'iS, or ARTHELAIS, March
3, V. "f c. 570. A native of Con
stantinople. The beautiful daughter of
Lucius, proconsul under the Emperor
Justinian, and of ST. AXTHUSA his wife.
As the Emperor expressed great admira
tion for her, Lucius concealed her for
a time. Anthusa wept and lamented
because, her daughter being already
vowed to a religious life, she did not
wish her to return to the world or to fall
into the power of the Emperor. At her
own request, sho was sent, under the care
of three confidential servants, to her
uncle Narses, who ruled in Italy. When
she had accomplished more than half the
journey, she was seized by robbers. Her
guardians fled to the church of ST,
EULALIA, where they prayed for the
release of their mistress, and gave alms
of her money to the poor. One of the
beggars who received their alms said,
"Inasmuch as you gave to one of the
least of these My brethren, ye gave
unto Me." And when He had thus
spoken He vanished out of their sight.
Then they knew that Christ had accepted
their charity and heard their prayers.
The robbers resolved to sell their captive
for wicked purposes. As they went out
of their house they were seized by the
devil, and so died ; at the same time an
angel of the Lord slew her gaoler and
all his men, loosed her bonds, and led
her out of the prison. She soon met her
servants, and they all proceeded to
Sipontum, a city of Apulia. She made
an offering in the church of St. Michael
at Monte Gargano near the town. Mean
time Narses was informed in a dream of
her approach. He went to meet her, and,
having stayed three days by the way at
Luceria, broiight her to Lenevento.
She walked barefooted to the church of
the Virgin Mary, where she offered six

ST. ASELLA

"hundred pieces of gold on the altar, and
then, with her friends, received the Holy
Communion. Soon after her arrival she
was seized with fever, and died in her
seventeenth year. All the women of
the city lamented and wept. She was
buried in the church of St. Luke, at the
Porta Kufiua, and afterwards translated
into the cathedral. Henschenius and
Papebroch, in AA.SS. from an old L(l'<
in a manuscript martyrology in the
Library at Beuoveuto, and a /,//''', in
Longobardic characters, in the Vatican ;
also from Vipera's History of the Bisltoi*
«/' !>• H' i-i-nto ; and Ferrarius' Italian
Saints.

St. Arthongathe, EHCONOOTHA.

St. Artongate, ERCONGOTHA.

St. Ascelina, Aug. *J:-J, Dec. 27, V.
Cistercian, -f 1 1 i»5. Related to St.
Bernard. When she was twelve years
old, a young clerk, being much struck
with her beauty, and desiring some oppor
tunity of conversing with her alone,
offered to teach her Latin, music, and
singing. As he could not talk to her
long at a time, he wrote letters and
verses to her in French. At the third
lesson, he confessed his love. The un
suspecting child answered that if he
would become a monk she would givo
him her love. The sinner changed his
dress, but not his heart, and dwelt three
months among the brethren — a wolf in
sheep's clothing. About this time, a
Jeper appeared to Ascelina, and bade her
beware of her false teacher, as he was an
instrument of Satan to rob her of her
innocence. The girl, distressed and per
plexed, ran and told her mother, who
camo at once to question the leper ; but
he was gone, and no trace of him could
be found. Her mother took her to a
holy priest, who cut off her hair, and
from that time she led an ascetic life,
which soon destroyed her beauty. Tho
false monk soon left his cloister and re
turned to the world. l>y the advice of
St. Bernard, Ascelina became a Cister
cian Dun under his niece Adeline, at
Pouligny, near the monastery of Boulan-
c-Miirt, in Haute Marne. AA.SS., from a
Irf/e given as contemporary by Henriquez.

St. Asclepiodote, Sept. l .">, M. under
Maximian. A relation of SS. Maxiuius

and Theodotus, and put to death with
them at a village between I'hilippopolis
and Adriauopolis in Thrace. Ascelepio-
dote was tied to a wild bull at Adria-
noplo; it stood quiet and did not hurt
her. Teres, the tyrant of Thrace, had
the three martyrs taken to a villa called
Saltys, and there beheaded. Very soon
after, he was struck dead by lightning.
Tho Act* end by a prayer of the writer
for the cessation of the persecution.
Stilting, in AA.SS. from Greek Act*,
believed to be contemporary and authen
tic. In the R.M. the name is written
ASCLEPIODOTUS, and the story seems to
bo of three men.

St. Asella (OCELLA, OSELLA), Dec. 6,
V. Born c. ;W4, f between 4< »;> and 408.
Friend and disciple of St. Jerome,
whose writings are the authority for her
story. Whether ho is to be understood
literally or not when ho speaks of her
as the daughter of Albina and sister of
MAHCELLA, she seems to have been a
member of a noble and wealthy Koinan
Christian family. She was not more
than ten years old when St. Athanasius
paid his third and last visit to Home.
His conversation made a deep impression
on her, and being already a pious child,
she 'wished to dedicate her life to tho
service of Christ. For a long time her
parents would not give her the rough
brown gown worn by the women who
devoted themselves to a life of asceticism
and charity, so she sold her gold neck
lace and bought tho coarse stuff, made
tho dress secretly, and when she was
twelve, surprised her family by appear
ing before them in this garb of consecra
tion. From this time she lived in great
silenco and seclusion, inhabiting a narrow
cell where she enjoyed the breath of
Paradise, having one stone for a place of
prayer and of repose. She lived on
bread, salt, and water, sometimes fasting
for days together. She would not go
into society nor speak to any man.
She worked with her hands and sang
psalms. When she attended tho Church
of tho Holy Martyrs she went very fast, so
as not to bo soon. *' You," writes Jerome
to Marcella, " have seen with your own
eyes her holy knees hardened like those
of a camel." These austerities never

86

ST. ASGITH

injured her health or her skin j she was
over fifty when, according to Jerome,
" with a sound body and a still sounder
soul, she found for herself a monkish cell
in the midst of busy Rome." In :?84,
in one of St. Jerome's letters to St. Mar-
cella, he praises St. Asella, and says,
" Do not tell her what I say, for she will
be displeased with eulogies of herself,
but read the letter to young girls, that
they may find in her conduct a rule of
perfect piety. Let widows and virgins
imitate her. Let wives make much of
her, let sinful women fear her, and
let bishops look up to her." St. Jerome
highly valued Asella's affection for
him ; he calls her an " example of
modesty," " the ornament of virginity,"
" a flower of the Lord." To her, as one
of the eldest and most honoured of the
community of learned and pious women
who so valued his instruction, he ad
dressed the farewell letter which he
wrote from the ship in the port of Ostia,
by which he was leaving Rome for the
East in ;-J85. In it he indignantly refutes
the calumnies which called him an
impostor and a hypocrite, and miscon
strued his friendship with ST. PAULA and
other friends. He bids her salute several
of the familiar group by name, and
among them " Albina your mother, and
Marcella your sister." Notwithstanding
these words, and the fact that she was
undoubtedly on a sisterly footing in the
house and social circle of Marcella,
Tillcmont and some other historians and
commentators say that this relationship
is not to be understood literally, and
that it is not known to what family
Asella belonged.

Palladius, who visited Rome in 4a~>,
says that he saw there the excellent
Asella — that virgin of Christ who had so
holily grown old in a monastery. Ho
calls her the gentlest of women, and says
that she took the most loving care of a
company and a house, where they re
ceived and instructed new converts.
She was then about seventy.

R.H. St. Jerome's Lcttrrx, Free-
mantle's edition, letters 24, 4.*>. Baronius,
Annalcft. Tillemont, ///>7o//v
Ecclesiastiqucs, xii. Baillet,
Saints.

St. Asgith, OSITH.

St. Askama. *SW AOUABONIA.

St. Aspasia, ATHAVASIA (1).

St. Aspedia, Dec. 1 4, M. Mentioned
in the M<xrtyrology of St. J<YO///<'.

St. Aspida, Feb. :>. r,th century.
Related t-j St. Avitus, Archbishop of
Vienne, who took an important part in
the religious and theological contro
versies of his time. His name is in the
R.M., Feb. .">, the day of his death, which
occurred in ~>2:>, and some of his poems
and letters are extant. Aspida is men
tioned in his Lift', but her right to the
title of Saint is uncertain. AA.SS. >SV<
FUSCIXA.

St. Aste, Nov. I'D, V. M. in Persia,
with a man called Boithazate, and a
great many other holy martyrs. Petin,
Diet. Haij.

St. Asteria, or HESTEHIA, Aug. 10,
V. M. Patron of Bergamo. Sister of
ST. GRATA of Bergamo, where, in the
time of Diocletian and Maximian, they
both buried St. Alexander. Grata was
put to death. Astoria buried her, and
afterwards was herself arrested, tortured,
and beheaded. See the legend of Hes-
teria. R.M. ]>i<><j,->ijia EccJcs,

St. Astrude, ArsrurDE.

St. Astuta, Feb. 28. One of many
martyrs at Alexandria. Henschcnius,
in AA.SS., from Mnrt. of Iteickenau.

St. Atalduid, Ai>rAu>nn.

St. Atea, May 2:>, July 5 (AETHA,
ALEA, ATHEA, ATHY), t»th century, was
a cousin and disciple of ST. MoDWENNA.
They lived in Ireland, and built a monas
tery on a hill, laboured with their hands
for their daily bread, " fall often digging
with a mattocko and sowing seeds in
the earth," and feeding on raw herbs.
They came from Ireland to England
with Luge, Brigid, and St. Ronan the
brother of Modwenna. \Vhen they
arrived on the Irish shore, they found
no boat to take them across the sea.
They prostrated themselves on tho
ground and prayed for aid, and lo, the
earth on which they lay was severed
from the land and floated out to sea ;
and, directed by an angel, they arrived
on the coast of England. When Mod
wenna built her monasteries, she left
Atea in charge of Pollesworth while she

ST. ATHANASIA

went to Strenshalen. After her return
from Home, Modwenna built herself aa
oratory, dedicated to St. Andrew, on an
island of Kent, called Scalecliff, after
wards Andresia, and when she went back
to Ireland she left Atea in charge of it.
Livt'8 <>f //" II'""' " .^"ints of . . .
W, E.E.T.S.

St. Atela, May '24. In Campania.
M '. of I!' (''In ?/"".

St. Athala, sometimes means ADELA
or AUKI.AIDK, and sometimes Attala.

St. Athna, ETHNKA.

St. Athanasia ( 1 ), or ASPASIA, Jan.
•"» 1 . M. :; 1 '_', towards the end of the per
secution under Maximinus. She and her
three daughters, THEODOSIA, Tm:o< i 1
and ErnoxiA, the eldest of whom was fif
teen, were tortured and beheaded at Cano-
pus, not far from Alexandria. They were
encouraged by St. Cyrus, a physician
of Alexandria, and St. John, who were
tortured at tin- same time as Athanasia
and In -r daughters, and put to death
after them. They were the last martyrs
in this, the last general persecution of
the Christians. AA.SS. Neale, //«///
Easti-rii f'liid-i'li. Martin.

St. Athanasia < 'J),Feb. 27. .5th cen
tury. Wife of St. Andronicus, and com
memorated with him, Oct. !>. He was a
silversmith of Antioch. They were rich
in this world's goods and also in good
works. They had one son and one
daughter, who both died on the same day,
when they were about twelve years old.
Andronicus resigned himself, like Job,
he will of God. Athanasia, overcome
with grief, would not leave the church

3t. Julian, where her children were
buried; but said she would die there,
and bo buried with them. At midnight,
St. Julian the martyr appeared to her
-cd as a monk. He asked her why
she wept, and why she did not leave tho
dead aloin-. She told him her grief. Ho
coiuforti-d her with the assurance that
her children were alive with Christ in
li-e. Tho saint disappeared, and
she understood that she had seen a
TlBlon. She r«-turned to her house and
told everything to her husband. They
liberated their slaves, sold their goods,
gave most of their money to tho poor,
and the ivst to his father-in-law, bidding

him to show charity and hospitality to
sick persons, monks, and pilgrims. Leav
ing Antioch, they went to tho holy
places at Jerusalem, and conversed with
golly persons living in that city. Then
they journeyed to Egypt to tho desert of
Sceto, and visited the Abbot Daniel, who
had a great reputation for sanctity. By
his advice Athanasia took tho veil in a
convent at Tabenna or in Alexandria.
Andronicus became a monk, and re
mained with Daniel and his brethren.
After twelve years spent among these
monks, Andronicus had a great longing
to revisit Jerusalem, and with Daniel's
permission he set out on a journey
thither. One day, as ho sat resting
under a palm-tree, ho saw a monk coming
towards him. This monk was Athanasia,
who also had been seized with an ardent
desire to return to Jerusalem, and had
disguised herself as a man for the pur
pose. She recognized her husband, but
he only saw in her a stranger of his own
sex and profession. She was the moro
altered of the two, her ascetic life having
deprived her of all remains of beauty,
and made her as black as an Ethiopian.
Andronicus had no suspicion that her
dress was a disguise, and they sat to
gether and talked as two pilgrims who
met for tho first time. Hearing that ho
came from Daniel's monastery, Athanasia
asked if he knew a monk there of the
name of Andronicus. " Yes," said he,
" I know him well." To which she re
sponded, " May his prayers be with us."
" Amen," answered Audronicus. As
they were both going tho same way,
they made the remainder of tho pil
grimage together, and when they re
turned to Kgypt, Andronicus proposed
that they should live together. Atha
nasia consented, on condition that they
should observe a strict rule of silence.
They lived twelve years in ono cell,
never speaking except to say their
prayers. During all that time Andro-
i.i.-us did not suspect that his companion
was tho same with whom he bad lived
so many years at Antioch, and who had
borne him two children. At last sho
was attacked by fever, and Andronicns
went in great distress for tho abbot of a
community, begging him

88

ST. ATHAXASIA

to come and pay the last duties to his
dear brother who was about to depart.
The dying Athanasia told her story to
the abbot, but not to her husband. A
few days after her death, Andronicns
was seized with the same fever. The
abbot, seeing him near death, told him
who it was that had shared his cell for
30 many years. Daniel's monks, having
heard much of the sanctity of their
former companion, wished to take his
body and bury him near their own abode,
but the brethren near whom he had spent
his later years claimed him as their own.
It was finally settled that the pair should
be buried side by side, near the spot
where they had led their silent ascetic
life. AA.SS.

St. Athanasia (3), Aug. 4, 14, April
18, called in some calendars AN AST ASIA.
•J" c. 860. Abbess of Timia, in Egypt.
Kepresented (1) weaving at a loom, a
star over her; (2) with a star on her
breast.

Born in the island of Egina. Her
parents, Nicetas and Irene, instructed
her in the Holy Scriptures from her
earliest childhood, and married her
young, about 822, to an officer in the
imperial army. He was obliged to leave
her sixteen days after their marriage, to
oppose the Saracens, who had come from
Africa, and were threatening the shores
of Greece. He was killed, and she be
took herself to a religious life, but before
she had made any vows, an edict was pro
mulgated by the Emperor Michael the
Stammerer, to oblige all marriageable
girls and young widows to marry, on
the ground that war and other scourges
had depopulated the greater part of the
Greek empire. Athanasia's parents found
her a good religious husband, who joined
in all her pious and charitable works.
On Sundays and other holy days she used
to assemble all the women of her neigh
bourhood, and read and explain the Bible
to them. Her husband became a monk,
and Athanasia, having no children to
take care of, converted her house into a
convent, of which she was too humble to
assume the direction, until it was forced
upon her by the community. Austerities,
which usually tend to make the temper
sour and discontented, never diminished

her sweetness and patience. After four
years, she decided that her house was
too near the stir of the world. With
the assistance of a holy priest named
Matthias, she found a more suitable
place, where she built three churches,
as well as a convenient house for her
increasing community. Her convent was
called Timia, which means a place ho
noured or respected. In superintending
the removal of her nuns to their new
residence, Matthias observed that they
were all extremely thin, and looked
very ill. He advised St. Athanasia to
moderate the severity of her rule, and
she thenceforth took more care of the
health and comfort of her spiritual
daughters. She went to Constantinople
to get funds for her three churches, and
to visit the Empress THEODORA, mother
and guardian of the Emperor Michael
III., who was fond of receiving persons
illustrious for sanctity. She remained
there against her will for seven years,
and died soon after her return to
Timia. After her death she appeared
in a vision to her successor, the new
abbess, and reproached her for not
making the prayers and alms for her
soul that she ought to have done for
forty days, bidding her do her duty in
this respect, and assuring her that at
the end of that time she would enter
into Paradise. At the end of forty days,
two of the nuns saw Athanasia crowned
above the altar, and, many miracles being
performed at her tomb, her sanctity was
universally acknowledged. Long after
wards her body was found fresh and
entire, and was dressed in goodly robes
and removed into the church. The
Muscovites, who follow the Greek rite,
place her fete on April IS. R.M., Aug.
J4. AA.SS., Aug. 4. Baillet says that
her Life is contemporary, but has passed
through the hands of Metaphrastes. In
the Martyroloyy of the Onlcr of St. Basil
the Great, A.R.M., Aug. 21, she is said
to belong to that order. Callot, Imnyes.
Husenbeth, Emh/nnn <>f Saint*. Cahier,
Caracteristiques. Die If ci lit /en 7> //'/'•/•.

The legend that explains the loom and
star in her pictures is that one day,
while she was still a young girl, sitting
at her loom, she fell into an ecstasy ; a

ST. ATTIIACTA

brilliant star darted from heaven to her
breast, and disappeared there, but illu
minated her whole person as long as the
ecstasy lasted. From that time she \vn<
a changed creature, and began to despise
earthly objects and interests. (Stadler
u. Heim, //' /'//;/• n L- ./•/£••//. i

St. Athea, 'ATE A.

St. Athela, ADELA.

St. Athelburga,ETiiELuruGA, July 7.

St. Athora, Feb. :>:•*, M. in Africa.
AA.S8.

St. Athy, ATKA.

St. Attala, or ATHALA, Dec. :J. f c.
711. Represented having a well m-ar
her, or as a corpse with one hand cut
off. St. Attala was first abbess of the
first monastery in Strasburg. She was
the daughter of Adelbert, Duke of
Alsace, by his first wife Gerlinda. He
had her carefully trained for the duties
of an abbess, by his sister ST. ODILA,
and in 717, when he built the monastery
of St. Stephen, he set her over it. She
won the love and reverence of her own
convent and of all the inhabitants of
Strasburg. So highly was she venerated,
that, after death, her body was exposed
for five weeks, and the faithful came
from all parts to honour her. Weren-
trude, Abbess of Hohenburg, and a
particular friend of St. Attala, desiring
a relic, employed a priest, who cut off
the right hand of the saint. Ho was
discovered. The hand was enclosed in
ft crystal box, and is preserved in tho
church of St. Stephen, where it is ex
hibited on Dec. .'5. Her black woollen
mantle was also preserved, and was
placed on the shoulders of each succeed
ing abbess at her installation. A well
in tho crypt was credited with healing
powers in her time and for centuries
afterwards. French and German Mar-
tyrologies. Cahier. Guerin, Pctitn Bol-
landisti .»•, xiv.

St. Attica, Feb. I:!, V. 4th century.
Converted by ST. ('MNMANCE AUGUSTA
AA.SS. Stadler.

St. Attracta, Feb. '.', Aug. li
(T.\i:.\«-r.\, TAHMIATTA, TAHXUTHA, TIIA-
»ATTA L .Mli or r.th century. An Irish
virgin, daughter of Saran, or Talan, or
Tigernach, of royal descent in Ulster.

The legend is that she made a vow

of celibacy at a very early age. To
avoid marrying in obedience to her
parents, she left her home, accompanied
only by her maid Mitain and her man
servant Mochain, and came to Conuaught.
She decided that her house must be
where seven roads met, that she might
entertain travellers from all directions.
Mochain eventually discovered such a
site for her, and there she built a church
and monastery. In her wanderings she
caiao to a beautiful place where St.
Conallus, her brother or near relation,
had his church. She sent to ask if she
might build herself a house in the neigh
bourhood. It happened to be Lent, and
St. Conallus was spending the holy
season, according to his custom, saying
his prayers in cold water. He called
to mind certain prophecies concerning
the wonderful works of Attracta, and
the fame she was destined to attain, and
decided not to have her within his terri
tory. He sent Dachonna (probably the
same as ST. MACHOXNA) to give her his
blessing, and to beg her, in the name of
God, not to erect any building in that
place. She was very angry. Besides
other fierce and cruel things, she said,
" Since you ask mo in the name of God,
I cannot refuse. And since you order
me to leave your lauds, I obey your
decree. But that Conallus may feel
how bitter is my sentence, I pray that
no corn may ever grow on his estate,
and that no father and sou together may
ever serve there. I foretell that a sound
of bells will come into your dwelling,
which will diminish tho offerings you
receive from tho people, or deprive you
of them altogether." This soon hap
pened : a monastery was built in the
place, and took all tho tribute which
lormerly went to St. Conallus' church.

Bee, King of Lugua, sent for Attracta
to kill a monster which devastated his
country. As a reward, ho gave to her
and her successors for ever, tho land
which had been rendered uninhabitable.
In course of time, tho King of Con-
naught went to war against tho men of
Lugna, and hemmed them in by lake
Techct. St. Attracta led them through
tho midst of the lake, on condition that
no one should look behind him. A boy,

90

ST. ATZIX

who was the servant of the drummer,
had the curiosity to look back. Ho was
immediately drowned. Whereupon the
drummer told Attracta that if he did
not without delay have his boy back
safe, he would slander her throughout
the world. So she prayed for the resur
rection of the lad.. An angel told her
she was troubling God too much : never
theless, she should have her wish, but
she must ask St. Foelan to raise the
youth. St. Foelan was lying asleep or
dead, with a stone in each hand, and
another in his mouth. He arose as out
of an ecstasy, and raised the drowned
boy to life. Many other miracles are
told of her.

Once on a time, Keannfaeland, King
of Connaught, ordered that all his sub
jects, including the clergy, should help
to build him a beautiful castle. Attracta
begged to be excused from this service,
promising the king instead fair winds
for his snips to bring beautiful things
from unknown countries, that the king
dom should remain in his family for
ever, and many other advantages, which
he so undervalued as not to accept the
bargain. So she went in a rage to the
forest, with St. Nathy and a few men
and horses, to cut down trees and saw
up the prescribed quantity of wood.
One of her servants suggested that, in
stead of the horses, the stags of the
forest might as well carry the wood to
the king — so the stags came to be laden.
Attracta pulled a few long hairs out of
her own head ; with these she tied the
planks on to the stags, and sent them
off to the king. Instead of being con
verted by the miracle, he hardened his
heart like Pharaoh, and set his dogs at
the stags ; but the devil entered into the
dogs, they bit the king and queen and
everybody who tried to defend them,
and most of the courtiers were killed.
The stags returned in peace to the forest,
and the dogs were turned into stones.

These incidents are told in a frag
ment of a Life of this saint, which
Colgan gives ( Feb. 1'J in his collection
of Irish Saints. It is supposed to be
the work of a Cistercian monk of the
llth century, and to bo quite destitute
of foundation. The beginning and end

of the story are lost. Attracta appears
in some Irish calendars on Aug. 7.
Bntlcr and Lanigan say she was an
Irish nun, who lived and died at a place
still called Killaraght, which is a con
traction of Kil Attracta, the church or
cell of Attracta. Some accounts say
she received the religious veil from St.
Patrick, who lived in the 5th century,
but Lanigan thinks she was a sister of
St. Coemgen, and lived, in the 7th or
late in the (Uh century, in a convent
founded by St. Patrick a century before,
but whicli afterwards took her name.
There are several places in Ireland
called Kil Attracta : this one is in Sligo.
Sec also AA.SS. and Britanma Sancta.

St. Atzin, ACHACHILDIS.

St. Allbierge, ETHELBUKGA (3).

St. Aucega, or ACCEIA, June 1, M.
A queen of the barbarians, called in
some martyrologies Aucias, or Auceia,
king, commemorated with a great num
ber of Christians martyred, either all
at Thessalonica, or some of them there
and some at Rome. The story given
by Papebroch (AA.SS., June 25) of ST.
LUCEJA, V., and St. Auceja, king of the
barbarians, appears to be the same.

St. Aucta, patron of Lisbon. Cahier.

St. Auda, ALDA.

St. Audata, March 1>S, M. at
Caesarea. AA.J38.

St. Audex, Nov. 1H, V. Sir H.
Nicolas, Chronology of History.

St. Audientia, Feb. :>. A holy
woman, mother of St. Avitus. Wife
of St. Isicius. Bollaudus is doubtful
whether she is to be placed among the
saints or not. AA.SS., Prsetcr.

B. Audouvaria, Ai DOYEKA.

B. Audovera, Aug. 17 (ANDOVERA,
AUDOVAKIA). "f .~>s:5. Queen of France,
the first wife whom we know by name
of Chilperic I., King of France. Wion
says she was the daughter of a prince of
Spain ; but perhaps he confounds her
with ST. GALSWINTIIA, another wife of
the same king. During the absence of
Chilperic, Audovera gave birth to her
fifth child, Childechinda, and, being a very
pious woman, she was desirous to have
her admitted as soon as possible into
the Church by baptism. Her confiden
tial but treacherous maid, Fredegunda,

ST. AUGUSTA

91

professed great affection for her mistress
and the infant princess, and profound
sympathy in the queen's anxiety to have
the child christened. Audovcra was
much puzzled about her choice of a god
mother. She was suro that that honour
would cause jealousy, quarrels would
arise, tho husbands of the offended
ladies might give trouble to tho king,
and she did not know what to do. In
IK T prrpli-xity she sought advice from
h«-r slave. " What lady in France is so
great as the queen ? " said tho designing
Fredegunda. " No one can be jealous
of you, or pretend to be your equal : hold
the illustrious infant yourself." Audo-
vera was delighted to find so clover a
way out of the difficulty. The christen
ing took place with great rejoicing and
feasting, and everybody was pleased. A
month or two after, King Chilperic came
home victorious from his wars, and all
the maidens went out to meet him with
Lr;u lands, songs, and dances. Fredegunda
took care to attract his attention to her
self, made him compliments on his
prowess and heroism, and announced to
him the birth of his daughter. When
she had coquetted with him a little, she
said, '; There is only one sad thing about
your triumphant home-coming." " What
is that ? " said tho king. " Oh, I am so
sorry about it, I hardly like to tell your
Highness." Hero she pretended to shed
a ti-ar. Chilperic insisted on knowing
what was tho matter, and Fredegunda,
with feigned reluctance, said, " Alas, my
lord, tin: re is nobody for you to sleep
witli now." "But you said tho queen
was well." " Ali, yes, the queen is well ;
but she has become your sister. For
getting tho duty she owed to her king
and husband, she has become godmother
"iir child. Tho holy bishops will
tell you, any priest will tell you, you
cannot have a woman for your wife who
is godmother to your child. "Very
well," said tho king ; " if I cannot sleep
with her, I will sleep with you." So
Andovera was deposed, and went to a
niona<t« ry at Lo Mans, taking her
hter with her. Fredegunda was
.nioti-d to IHT place, and nine years
alt.-rwards, in 583, she had them both
murdered in their retreat. Fredegund i

was Chilperic's mistress for many years ;
but not until he hud married other
wives, and not until she had committed
other crimes, did she become his wife ;
and eventually she had him nmrd< n 1
too. Bucelinus calls Audovera " Martyr,"
and Wion calls her "Saint." Am»'-d< '•••
Thierry, in his Her it* MerovtngieH^gvrei
the history of Fredegunda's plot.

The little princess, who had been tho
tool used to work her mother's mis
fortune, was happy in being put to death
with her in her innocence. Basine, an
older daughter of Audovcra, was cruelly
treated by Fredegunda, and after passing
through depths of misery and degrada
tion, was placed, against her will, in the
monastery of Sainte Croix, built by ST.
(1) at Poitiers, where ST.
(5) was abbess. She proved a
very bad nun, and gave a great deal of
trouble. Of the three sons of Chilperic
by Audovera, Clovis and Mcrovce who
became the second husband of Brune-
hault, fell victims to the malice of
Fredegunda.

St. Audrey, ETHELKEDA. There is
also a St. Audrey or Aldricus (Oct. 10),
Bishop of Sens, i'th century.

St. Audru, AUSTKUDE.

St. Aufidia, May ti, M. at Milan
with ST. JUDITH and several others.
Petin, Dirt. Ilu.,.

St. Augia i 1 i, May 14, M. at Apt,
in Provence, probably under one of the
heathen Emperors. Claimed as a member
of tho family of Salebron, or Sabron ;
but they settled in France not earlier
than the 1 \ th century. AA.SS.

St. Augia ( _' ), Sept. 25 (AoiA, AIGE,
ArsTitKciLD). Sister of St. Aunarius.
Mother of St. Loup.

St. Augusta ( 1 ), July i>s, V. M.
AAJSS.

St. Augusta (2), Nov. 24, M. Said
to be tho wife of the Emperor Maxinaian,.
and martyred with ST. CATHERINE.

St. Augusta (3), March 27. Patron
and native of Serravalle, and worshipped
there from time immemorial. Repre
sented on a funeral pile holding a sword.
Frightful atrocities were committed by
barbarians, who ravaged Italy from
about 4 < M i until tho time of Charlemagne.

92

ST. AUGUSTICIA

Somewhere during that time lived Mau-
clrucco, father of Augusta, aud ruler of
part of the territory of Friuli. He fixed
his residence at Serravalle, and had a
palace and fortress on a rock, since called
by the pious natives St. Augusta. Man-
clrucco would have been great had he
not tarnished his fame by the murder of
his daughter. Incensed at her conver
sion to Christianity, ho subjected her to
sundry tortures. She was suspended
over a fire between two trees. The fire
failed to injure her. He then tried in
vain to have her broken on a wheel ; and,
finally, had her beheaded. A. Minucci,
1 V//i di Santa Augusta Vergine e Martire,
Venice, 1754. AA.SS.

St. Augusticia, or AUGUSTINA, May
8, M. at Constantinople, with St. Aca-
cius. See AGATHA. AA.SS.

St. Augustina, AUGUSTICIA.

St. Aularia, EULALIA of Barcelona.

St. Aulaye, EULALIA of Barcelona.

St. Aulazie, EULALIA of Barcelona.

St. Aunes. ST. AGNES is so called
an Languedoc.

St. Aupaies, ALPAIS of Cudot.

St. Aura, AUREA of Paris.

St. Aurea (1), or CHRYSE (Golden),
Aug. 24, V. M. 3rd century. Repre
sented, in Callot's Images, being thrown
into the sea with a great stone tied to
her neck. A lady of high rank and
imperial descent, tortured and drowned
at Ostia, in the reign of Claudius. Her
body was washed ashore, and buried by
48 1. Nonnus. Many other martyrs are
commemorated with her, amongst them
her slave Sabinian. R.M. Stilting
thinks she is the same as AUREA (3).
AAJ38.

St. Aurea (2;, July 14, M. at Cor
dova, under Nero. The town of Soria,
or Santoria, on the Douro, is named
after this saint, or ST. AURELIA (2), or
ST. AURIA.

St. Aurea Of), Sept. 5, M. about
2.") 2. Patron of Ostia. Aurea appears
4o have been one of those women who,
during the persecutions, used to visit the
Christians in prison, and in every pos
sible way minister to the needs of the
suffering followers of Christ. She ac
companied St. Maximus, a Christian
priest, and his deacon Archelaus when

they went to visit the prefect Censurinus,
who was imprisoned at Ostia. While
they were all praying together and sing
ing hymns, the fetters of the prisoner
were suddenly unloosed. Seeing this
miracle, the guards were converted.
Seventeen of them were baptized by St.
Maximus. St. Aurea was godmother.
Soon afterwards St. Cyriacus, the bishop,
confirmed them in the Faith. The ne\v
converts led a holy life, after the rule of
the early Church, and many miracles
were done by them. When the Emperor
heard that they had raised the dead to
life, he said they were using magic arts,
and had them all apprehended and com
manded to sacrifice to the gods. Cruel
tortures were used to compel them to do
so ; and at last they were led to the arch
that stood in front of the theatre, and
there beheaded. The Christians buried
them, and raised a monument at Ostia to
their memory. This story agrees with
secular history wherever the comparison
can be made. Stilting thinks this is the
true story of the St. Aurea who in other
fictitious Acts is said to have been thrown
into the sea. AA.SS.

St. Aurea (4), or AUUEUS, May 2n,
M. at Rome or Ostia. Commemorated
with SS. BASILA and NUSCA.

St. Aurea (5), July 22, M. at An-
tioch.

St. Aurea (6), Oct. 31, V. M. (AD-
VISA, AVIA ; in French AVEZE, AVOIE,
EVE). Daughter of ST. GERESINA, Queen
of Sicily. Sister of SS. BABILIA, VIC
TORIA, JULIA (24), and ADRIAN. Niece of
ST. DAKIA. Cousin of ST. URSULA, and
companion of her famous journey and
martyrdom.

St. Aurea (7), or AURA, Oct. 4. -fOOii.
Patron of Paris. Represented (1) with
the corpse of the cellarer whom she
raised to life; (2) holding a nail, in
allusion to her penance. Born in Syria.
Her parents were Maurinus and Quiretia,
Christians. After their death she gave
herself up to religious austerities for a
time in her own country, until, finding
too many ties to the world among her
friends and acquaintances, she took ship
without informing them of her design,
and arrived in France during the reign
of Dagobert, the seventh king of the

ss. AlKKLIA AM) NEOMISIA

French. When she found that she had
come to a country where there were
many houses of religious retirement and
hundreds of holy virgins serving God in
them, she was filled with thankfulness.
She went to Paris, where many holy men,
secular as well as ecclesiastic, shed lustre
on the court by their wisdom and virtue.
Among these were St. Arnonl or Arnulf,
mayor of the palace ; St. Rudo, treasurer
of France ; St. ( hven, a great and valiant
commander under Dagobert ; St. Eloi
(Eligius), a goldsmith of Limousin, who
was called, for his charity, " The Father
of tho Poor." To him the king had
given a fine largo house in Paris, which
he transformed into a Benedictine
nunnery, and built in it a church dedi
cated in the names of SS. Martial and
VALERIA, patrons of his native province.
A< tho virtues and piety of St. Aurea
could no more bo hidden than the light
of the sun, St. Eloi soon found her out,
and made her abbess of his new convent,
though she would have chosen to obey
rather than to command. Here she
ruled over three hundred nuns. One
day, in the chapel of the nunnery, a cer
tain deacon read the Gospel so badly
that tho good abbess lost all patience,
seized tho book out of his hand, and read
it herself. Afterwards she acknowledged
with deep regret the irreverence of her
conduct, and imposed upon herself, as
a penance, to recite the whole of the
hundred and fifty psalms daily, seated in
a chiir with nails in it specially con
structed for discomfort. This penance
she accomplished with great devotion,
having resigned, for the time, her office
[>f abbess. A nun named Deda, who had
tho whole charge of the revenue and ex
penditure of the community, died while
Au ri -a was absent at a farm which formed
part of tho possessions of tho convent.
Xo one else understood tho business, and
great trouble and loss were threatened
to the nuns. Three days after Deda's
death A un-a came homo and raised her
to life. 1 )eda gave a satisfactory account
of her stewardship, and set the affairs of
the house in onlrr. Some time afterwards
she departed in peace. During tho pes
tilence that ravu^'-d r'ranrr in '">'i,moro
-han half of tho nuns died. St, l'.l>i.

Bishop of Noyon, Tournay, and Yer-
mandois, who had died tho year before,,
appeared robed in white, to a young many
and bade him go and tell tho abbess
Aurea to come to him. She then died,
aged sixty-eight, having been abbess
thirty-three years. E.M. Lfyende 1)
AA.SS. Butler. Life of St. Eloi, Dec.
1, on tho authority of St. Owen.

St. Aurea («), July 19, V.M. 850.
Sister of Adolphus and John, the first
martyrs in the persecution at Cordova,
under Abderrahman. Several years after
their glorious death, Aurea, like St.
Peter, denied her Lord in tho moment of
danger, but repented, and publicly pro
fessed her regret. She was slain with a
sword and hung on a gibbet with her
head down. R.M. AA.SS., from St.
Eulogius's contemporary account of this
persecution. Cahier, Cnracteristiquea.

St. Aureca, Jan. 2, M.

St. Aurelia (1), Dec. 2, V. Towards
the end of the Oth century, St. Colum-
banus, St. Gall, and some other Irish-
Scots went on a mission to revive Chris
tianity in parts of tho continent where-
tho people had relapsed into paganism.
Amongst the ruins of a little city called
Brigantium, now Bregentz, about i5h>,
they found an oratory dedicated to St.
Aurelia, near which they built themselves
cells. St. Gall preached to the people
and destroyed their idols, and St. Colum-
bauus, to tho satisfaction of tho people
who returned to the true Faith, placed
the relics of St. Aurelia under the altar
on which he said Mass. R.M. This
Aurelia is probably the same as VALERIA

(12).

St. Aurelia (2), Oct. 12 or 1:1, M.
with St. Lupus, under tho Saracens, at
Cordova. Tho town of Soria, or San-
toria, is named after this saint, or Sr.
AriiKA (2), or ST. AUKIA. AAJ3S.

SS. Aurelia (:>) and Neomisia,
Sept. 2.\ VV. at Anagui, in Italy. Suy~
sken says probably in tho beginning of
the llth century. Mas Latrio says per
haps in the !>th century. They were
born in Asia. On tho death of their
parents, contrary to tho wishes of their
n-Iations, they made a vow of virginity,
and gave their inheritance to tho poor.
They visited tho holy places of .Syria

ST. AURELIA

and Palestine, went to the tombs of the
Apostles at Rome, and received the
Pope's benediction. In the neighbour
hood of Capua they were taken prisoners
by the Saracens, who demanded that they
should renounce their religion. As they
refused, they were beaten with great
cruelty. But a frightful thunderstorm
•caused the barbarians to flee and leave
their victims. The saints then went to
Macerata, two miles from Anagni, where
they were well received by a pious man,
and, while they were spending the night
hours in prayer, they died. The bells of
Anagni rang and other miracles , mani
fested the sanctity of the departed. II. M.
Suysken, in AA.S8.

St. Aurelia (4), Oct. ir>, Y. f 1027.
Princess of France. Recluse. Patron
of Ratisbon. Specially honoured at
Strasburg. She is said, but not with
certainty, to have been daughter to Hugh
Capet. Bucelinus says she was probably
daughter of Lothaire, nephew of Louis
d'Outremer. She was very beautiful and
was promised to Elwein, a young prince
related to the king. Preferring a soli
tary religious life, she fled in disguise to
Oermany, and betook herself to St. Wolf
gang, who recognized her. He built her
a hermitage, where she lived unknown
for fifty- two years. Her cell was after
wards converted into a chapel, and dedi
cated in the name of St. Andrew. She
has been supposed to be sister of ST.
EDIGNA, who, however, is generally
thought to have lived in the next century.
Martin, from B. Gonon's Percn (V Occident.
Raderus, Bavaria Sancta. Du Saussaye.
Mart. Gallicanum.

St. Aurelia (r>), Oct. i:>, V. (EM.).
Tradition says she was a native of Stras
burg and companion of ST. UIISULA. She
died of fever outside her native city. A
certain King Philip tried to open her
sarcophagus, was seized with madness,
ate his own hands and feet, and so died.
AA.SS.

B. Auria, or OKIA, March 11, V.
fabout HOn. Born at Villa Villayo,
near Mansilla, six leagues from St. Emi-
liano. Daughter of Garcia Nunnio and
Amunna. Auria was given to piety,
charity, and asceticism from her earliest
years. She took the veil when young, and

went to live with some women of kindred
tastes, in a retreat adjoining the Bene
dictine monastery of St. Emiliano de Suso,
according to the custom of the time, which
permitted a community of consecrated
virgins to live near a house for monks.
She was favoured with celestial visions,
and the fame of her sanctity spread over
all the country. The abbot and two
monks attended her death-bed : her
mother was also present, and died a few
days after her. A. sepulchre was hewn
for her in the rock, and there she and her
mother were buried. Their tomb, some
what defaced by damp, was to be seen
some hundreds of years afterwards, in
the church of St. Emiliano de Suso.
Sandovellius adds that the town of Soria
on the Douro (Durium), near the ruins
of Numantia, is a contraction of Saint'
Oria, and is so called from this saint.
Henschenius and Papebroch believe it to
be older, and think it more likely that
the name is derived from ST. AUKEA (2),
martyr at Cordova under Nero, or ST.
AUKELIA (2), martyr at Cordova under
the Saracens. AA.SS., from Sando
vellius, Ancient Monument*.

St. Auriga, Jan. 2, M. in Ethiopia,
with SS. CLAUDIA and RUTILA. AA.SS.,
from St. Jerome's Mtortyrology.

St. Ausonia, one of the martyrs of
Lyons, who died in prison. See BLAN-

DINA.

St. Aussille, AUXILIA.

St. Austell, or AWSTLE, whose feast
is on Trinity Sunday, is supposed to be
the same as HAWSTYL, the twenty-fifth
daughter of Brychan. Arnold Forster.
See ST. ALMHKDA.

St. Austreberta (ANBTBEBEBT, Eus-
THEBEHGA), Feb. t», 10,1<>, Oct. H> (trans
lation), V. Abbess. "J" 7(»:>. Patron of
Montreuil, in Picardy. Represented ( 1 i
plunging her arm into an oven, in allu
sion to the legend that as her broom
was burnt and she had to sweep the oven
just before putting in the bread, she went
in and dusted it with her sleeves ; ( 2
with an ass, perhaps to denote the
humility with which, though of high
rank, she performed the meanest offices
of the convent.

Daughter of Vaufroi, mayor of the
palace under Childeric, or Dagobert II.

ST. AUSTRUDE

Her mother was ST. FUA.MI:* HII.HK, or
FKAMKIH:. Austreberta was born at
Therouane, iu Belgium. It is asserted
that, at the moment of her birth, a super
natural light shone in the room, a sweet
<>«!« ur filled the neighbourhood, and a
white dove, which had been seen to Hy
all about the town, finally settled on the
head of the new-born child. Her vow
of celibacy was confirmed by the appari
tion of a veil descending on her head as
she looked at herself in a well. Her
father having promised her in marriage
tit a young nobleman, she fled and hid
herself. Finding tho roads flooded and
bridges washed away by the river Cange,
she walked on tho water. She received
the religious veil from St. Omer, Bishop
of Therouane, who then restored her to
her parents. She lived the life of a nun
in their house, and after a time betook
herself, with their approval, to the con
vent of Port on the Sommo, where Ber-
goflede was abbess. Austreborta was
almost immediately elected prioress. She
was afterwards abbess of a new convent
in Normandy : its name is unknown ; it
was built by Amelbert for his daughter.
Some of the nuns, having tried and failed
to poison St.. Austroberta, accused her of
cruelty to the said daughter of Amel
bert, of wasting tho goods of tho com
munity, and of other offences. Ho came
and reproached Austreberta bitterly. In
his ungovernable rage he drew his sword.
She presented her neck, and thus caused
Arnelbert to recover from his fury and
honour her saintly courage and humility.
She is said to have restored to life a
nun who had] been killed through her
own disobedience. J icing unable to
manage these refractory nuns, she com-
pli«-d with tho request of St. Filibert,
Al.hot oi'.himiegcs, to undertake tho care
of the new convent he had built at
Tiivilly, in the district of Oaux, in Xor-
inandy. It was afterwards destroyed in

invasion of the Normuns, and a h<»-
for Benedictine monks was built on tho
spot in later times. /,'..!/. Baillot
her LI/-, by a writer almost contem
porary, is fairly reliable. Martin, from
Surius. I hitler. Bollandus.

St. Austregild, A<;i.\, mother
Loup.

St. Austrude, Oct. 17

AV-TKUSK, ASTKI-J.I:, Aruur. Q0TIU . V.
Abbessof Laon. "f M'SS or 7<>7. l)aught«-r
of B. Blaudin or Bason and ST. S \i..\-
HKUGA. Born in tho diocese of Toul, in
Lorraine, about <>:54. She was c«>
crated to God before her birth by her
mother. When Austrude was three
years old, St. Salaberga, with her hus
band's consent, left her home and became
a nun. At tho age of twelve St. Aus-
trudo was asked in marriage by Landrail,
a rich young nobleman. Her father left
the decision of the matter to her, and
she said she had already chosen an im
mortal Husband. Accordingly, she at
once took the veil in the double monas
tery of St. John the Baptist, at Laoii.
It was built and governed by her mother.
She gave such proofs of piety and capa
bility, that on Salaberga's death she was
chosen to succeed her as abbess, at the
early age of twenty. She declined the
office on the plea of her youth and inex
perience, but as the whole community
demanded her appointment, she was
obliged to accept tho post in obedience
to tho King of France and tho Bishop
of Laon. The murder of her brother,
B. Baldwin, was a great grief to her.
The same enemies who had plotted his
assassination accused St. Austrude ,tO
King Thierry III., of favouring tho party
of tho unfortunate Dagobert II., son of
St. Sigebert, who had been killed in
in the war against Thierry. Ebroin,
mayor of the palace, was much incensed
against her, and was only convinced of
her innocence by tho apparition of a
globe of fire above the abbey, where
upon ho became her friend and protector.
Soon afterwards she had a narrow escape
from assassination. Her intended mur
derer, being touched by finding her
engaged in prayer, confessed his sin, and
obtained her forgiveness. In a civil
br.iil, h.-r abbey was in great danger of
In -ing pillaged, for Ebrohard burned a
great part of the town of Laon, and for
cibly possessed himself of the keys of
tho abbey; but in the moment of greatest
l-« ril, its inhabitants learned that they
were saved by the death of Kbrohard.
Aiistnt'le's troubles were, however, not
ended, for her own bishop. Madelgar or

90

ST. AUTORICIA

Mauger, wanted to appropriate to himself
her abbey, although it had been built
by her family entirely at their own
expense. She had recourse to Pepin, the
new mayor of the palace, who took her
part. Baillet. Butler. AA.SS.

St. Autoricia, Dec. 1<>, V. M. Ho
noured with ST. TEUTULLA at Algiers.
Guerin, from the French Mart.

St. Auxilia, or AUSSILLE, Sept. 4, V.
M. Worshipped at Thil and Precy, in
Burgundy. AA.SS., from Castellanus.
Petin, Diet. Hay. Chatelain, Martyrologie
Universe!.

Auxiliary Saints. Represented as a
group of fourteen, each with an emblem.
Among the fourteen are three women,
BARBARA (1), CATHERINE (1), and
MARGARET (1). I have seen a print
in which ST. AGNES (2) also figured.
There is no authority for supposing the
Auxiliary Saints to be more powerful or
more benevolent than other saints. The
custom of resorting specially to their
patronage is supposed to have begun in
Germany, where they are called Hul-
freichende. The men's names are : Bla-
sius, bishop of Sebaste, M. George, the
great Martyr. Giles, abbot. Denis, M.
Erasmus, bishop, M. Vitus, M. Cyri-
acus, deacon, M. Pantaleon, physician,
M. Eustace, M. Acacius, or Agath-
angelos, bishop of Antioch. Christopher,
giant, M. To these, Magnus, abbot, is
sometimes added. Wetzer and Welte,
Diet. TJtc'vloyiquCj article by Stemmer.

B. Ava,'or AVIA, April 20, V. 9th
century. She was blind, and gave large
gifts to many churches and shrines where
she prayed to receive her sight. She
was told by an angel that it should be
given to her if she would pray at the
sepulchre and relics of ST. RAINFREDE,
at Dennain, or Dinant sur 1'Escant, in
Hainault. She therefore bestowed all
her property on the church there, and
took the veil in the convent where that
saint had been first abbess. Ava is
sometimes said to be one of the nine
sisters of St. Rainfrede. Bucelin says
she was second abbess of Dinan, near
Valenciennes ; daughter of Adelbert,
Count of Austrofandia, and Regina, niece
of King Pepin. AA.SS.

St. Avace, AVATIA.

St. Avangour, Feb. 25. ST. WAL-
BURGA is worshipped under this name in
Touraine.

St. Avatia, or AVAC-E, June 20. She
lived in the valley of Agordia, or Agor-
dino, where she is worshipped in a
church dedicated in her honour ; it is
between Belluno and Feltri, in Venetia.
She received St. Luxan, bishop of Brixen,
and ministered to him when he was
driven out of his see. This is men
tioned in Ferrarius' Catalogue of Italian
Saints. Papebroch, in AA.SS.

St. Avaugourg, or AVONGOURG. ST.
WALBURGA is so called in some parts of
Poitou and Touraine.

St. Ave. French for AVIA.

St. Avellia, AVETTIA.

St. Avenia, Oct. 22. i»th century.
Sister or wife of St. Benedict, abbot.
They were natives of Patras, in the
Morea, and left their country with nine
other religious persons bound by a com
mon vow. In the time of Charlemagne
they settled at Macerac, in Bretagne.
Benedict lived to a great age, and was
buried in his own oratory, before the
middle of the (Jth century. Victor de
Buck, in AA.SS.

St. Aventiana, VALENTIANA.

St. Avetria, AVETTIA.

St. Avettia, May 28, M. at Rome,
Her name, sometimes written AVELLIA
and AVETRIA, appears in a list of martyrs
this day in the Aartyrology of St. Jerome..
Henschenius, in AA.SS.

St. Aveze, AVIA (2;.

St. Avia (1 ), March i>. The holy
grandmother. M. by the sword, with
her husband, their son and daughter-in-
law, or daughter and son-in-law, and
two grandchildren. Commemorated by
the Greek Church. AA.SS.

St. Avia (2), Oct. 21 (ADVISA, AUREA,
AVE, AVEZE, AVOIE, EVE), M. of vir
ginity. Date uncertain. She was killed1
by barbarians. Local tradition said that
one of the ships containing the com
panions of ST. URSULA was wrecked at
Boulogne, in Picardy ; St. Avia survived
the wreck, and lived as a recluse in a
wood near Diverna, four leagues from
Boulogne. Other accounts say she was
a hermit there at a rather later date.
Perhaps the same as AUKEA (6). AA.SS-.

ST. I5AIHTA

B. Avia - 3 . A\\.

St. Avis, Hi:i'wiG.

St. Avida, May 7, M. in Africa.
Studler.

St. Avina, May 2, V. M. Stadler.

St. Avita i 1 ), Aug. L'l, M. in Italy.
AAJ38.

St. Avita i - i, consin and disciple of
Si. MI.I.AMA (2). Palladius (cap. L36)
testifies that ho saw the Blessed Avita,
wife (»f Aprinianus, and their daughter
Eunomia, and tliat they were converted
from a life of luxury and pleasure, and
became worthy to sleep in Christ free
from sin.

St. Avoie i 1 ), May 2. Honour* d
in P.retagne and at Paris. Chastelain
says she is, perhaps, same as ADVISA.
Compare AIKKA < (}).

St. Avoie ( - i. HEDWIG.

St. Avrince, AI-HINCIA.

Awegnente Ubaldini, CLARA
UBALDINL

St. Awstle, AUSTELL.

St. Axiosa. See FAITH, HOPE, and
CHARITY,

St. Axitiana, June 2<i. Penitent.
Wife of Altalius, a Koman. She was
converted from a sinful life by the
preaching -of St. Peter the Apostle, and
honoured in the Abyssinian Church.
Papebroch, in AA.SS., Prsetcr.

St. Aya, April 18 (AiA, AIE, AYE).

T'".i. Invoked in law-suits. Wife
^t. Kidulph. She has been styled
Duchess of Lorraine, Countess of Hai-
nault, of Lobbes, of Cambrai, and of
Ardennes ; but these principalities did
not exist in her time. In G<>5 St.
Hidulph became a monk at Lobbes, and
Aya, a nun under ST. WALTHUDE, at
rilocus, afterwards Mons. She pre
sented to this monastery her lands of

Ximy, Braim-le-Willotte (now
I Iraine-le-Cointe ), and Maisieres. About
eighty years after her deatli some of
her relations applied to the authorities
of the land for a restitution of the family
estates. The title-deeds had been lost.
By desire of the nuns, the litigants and
other persons assembled with the court
at the tomb of the saint. One of the
nuns said, in a loud voice, " Great Saint,
they wish to take from us Guesmes,
Nimy, Maisii-res, and Braine, which you
gave to us. Speak in favour of your
daughters, and confirm the gifts you
made in your life." A clear and dis
tinct voice came from the tomb, and was
heard by everybody present, saying, " I
ratify all these gifts which I made to
the Church." Coret, Le TriompJie de
', Mous, 1G74. Biofjrapkic Beige.

St. Ayesia, AESIA.

St. Aza ( 1 ), Dec. 13. Honoured with
St. AN ASTASIA. Grseco-Slav. Calendar.

St. Aza (2 ), April 1!>. Daughter of
St. Lazarus, a king in that commodious
region " the East." They came from
their own country to Rome to venerate
the tombs of the Apostles. Then,
having visited some of the most famous
places of religious resort in France, they
settled down as hermits near the mon
astery of Moyen-Moutier, in Lorraine,
where they died. Their relics worked
miracles, and were brought to light in
the llth century. Guerin. P.B.

St. Azarie, patron of a church at
(ilaiic. Mas Latrie, Trhor.

St. Azelie, ADA.

St. Azelie, ASELLA.

St. Azenor, Dec. 7. Princess of Leon,
in Brotagne. Gth or 7th century. Mas
Latrie, Tw

B

St. Babet, ELI/AHETH or ISAJ:I:I..

St. Babila, <-r MMUI.IA, «>r r>M'.Yi.i,\,

daughter of ST. GKBASDIB. >'« CI.MI.A.

St. Babilla. Sometimes means BAL-
r.is A.

St. Badechild, RATHILDB.

Bagan and Eugenia < -i i, Jan. 22,
W. Neale, from the Anmnio-Gioryian

St. Bahuta, Nov. 2<», Widow, M.
r. 843, A great number of Christians

St. Babion, patron of a church in 1 martyrdom with St. Narscs,

31;is

, Triwr.

r.i^h-ip of Sciaharcadat, in lleth-< '« -riaa,

Ji

98

ST. BAICHE

in Persia. Among them wer6 Baliuta,
widow, THECLA, DANACHA, TATONA,
MAMA, MAZACHIA, and ANNA, virgins of
Beth-Seleucia ; ABIATA, HATES, and
MAMLACHA, virgins of Beth-Geriua.
Pctits BoU«)idi*icx.

St. Baiche, Nov. 20. A Persian
nun. Neale, quoting the Annotio-
G con /in a Calendar.

St. Balbina (i ), March ;n, V. M.
Patron against scrofula. ~\" !;><>. Bepre-
sented holding chains. Daughter of St.
Quirinus, M., a Roman tribune, who was
persuaded by St. Hermes, prefect of the
city, and at that time a prisoner for the
sake of his Christian faith, to visit St.
Alexander, the Pope, who was also in
prison. Quirinus said to Alexander, " I
have a grown-up daughter, and I wish
to have her married. She is very pretty,
but she is disfigured by lumps and sores
on her neck. If you can cure her, I
and all my household will believe in
your God and be baptized." Alexander
said, " If you will take the fetters off my
neck and put them on hers, she will be
cured." Quirinus did so, and Alexander
blessed them both. A boy then appeared
to Balbina, bearing a torch and telling
her she was cured, and she was to have
no earthly husband, but to be the bride
of Christ. When he had said this, he
disappeared, and Balbina was healed of
her sores and was baptized with Quiri
nus, Exuperia her mother, and all their
household. As Balbina often kissed the
fetters that had cured her, Alexander
said, " Do not kiss these bonds, but seek
for the chains of my master, St. Peter,
and kiss them." Then Balbina sought
them with great diligence, and at last
found them. ST. THKODOKA, sister of
the Prefect Hermes, entreated Balbina
to give her the chains, which she did.
At that time Aurelian, being enraged
against the Christians, sent soldiers to
take all the prisoners who had been
baptized, and put them in an old ship, in
which they were sent out to sea, tied
together by their hands, with stones
round their necks, and the ship was
sunk. St. Balbina was among them.
Other accounts do not mention her
martyrdom, but say she was buried with
her father in the Via Appia, in the

cemetery of Pretextatus, which is some
times called by her name on account of
the church built there in her honour by
St. Mark, Pope ( :\'M). EM. AA.SS.

B. Balbina ( 2 ), March J J . O.S.F.
Kith century. Niece of ST. CLAKA (2).
Sister of B. AMATA, who was one of St.
Clara's first nuns. Their father was
Martini de Corano. Balbina joined the
ne\v community in its second year, and
was eventually first abbess of the second
convent of the Order of St. Clara at
Spello. Balbina and Aniata are men
tioned in the Franciscan Marti/roloyy.
Jacobilli, DC Sanctis Utnbrise. AA.SS.,
Prsetcr. Mrs. Oliphant, Francis of
Axsisi.

St. Balda, Dec. 9, Y. Third Abbess
of Jouarre, in the diocese of Meaux.
After having been a nun for some years
under her nieces, ST. THEODECHILD and
ST. AILBERT, who were successively
Abbesses of Jouarre, she succeeded Ail-
bert in that office about »>H<>, and died at
a great age in the odour of sanctity.
Ferrarius, Cdtaloyus Sanctorum. Buce-
liuus. Lechner.

St. Baldechild, BATHILDE.

St. Baldegund, Feb. 10 (BAUDE-
(JONDE, WALDEGUND). Between the
middle of (5th and middle of 8th cen
turies. A Benedictine abbess in France,
mentioned in several old martyrologies.
AA.SS. Boll. Bucelinus, Men. Ben.

St. Balsamia, Oct. 25, Nov. i<;
(BALZAMIE, BAUSAME, BAT'/ANNK, Nou-
i;i< •]•:). 5th century. Balsamia was the
mother of St. Celsinus, or Soussiu, whose
festival is held on Oct. 25 at Kheims,
Nov. It) at Laon. She was the nurse of
St. licmigius, or llemi, and is therefore
generally called Sainte Norrice, and by
this name the collegiate church at
Iiheims was dedicated in her honour.
In the Breviary of Iiheims her worship
is prescribed for Nov. 10. AA.SS.
Chastelain, Yoc. H<i</. Petit* Bollcmdisb t.

St. Baltilda, BATHILDB.

B. Baptista Varani, or CAMILLA
( 1 i, May 31. O.S.F. f 1527. Her
family were princes of Cameriuo, in
Umbria. Her father, Julius Cajsar
Yarano, or Yerano, served with distinc
tion, first in the wars of Yenicc, and
afterwards under Matthias Corvinus,

ST. 1JA1MJAHA

99

King <>f Hungary, and was at one time
Viceroy of Naplee f«>r King Ferdinand.
Her mother was Joanna Malatesta of
Kiiuini. They had four sons and one
daughter, called at first Camilla. She
was born in troubled times. Two of In r
father's brothers, with their sons, had
been put to death for being implicated
in a conspiracy. In 14S1 Camilla took
the veil at Urbino, and with it the name
of Baptista. After a few years she
returned to Camerino, and was made
abbess of the nuns of the Order of ST.
CLAIIA there. She wrought miracles,
and was revered as a saint by the people
of Camerino during her life. She was
a mystic, and received many marks of
divine favour. She was carried in the
spirit by two angels to the foot of the
cross, and remained there two months.
Christ placed three lilies on her breast.
She had revelations of the mental suffer
ings of Christ, and wrote an account of
them.

In 1 :>< '_' the Camerentines gave them
selves up to Pope Alexander VI. His
son, Crcsar Borgia, cruelly slaughtered
IJaptista's father, who had ruled virtu
ously for nearly half a century, and
three of his'sons ; the youngest survived.
his father having sent him with the
treasure to Venice at the beginning of
the war. He was eventually reinstated
is his possessions, and, after the death of
Alexander, the two following Popes con
firmed him in the principality or duke
dom of Camerino. In 1 .M'7, on the death
<•!' Baptista, this brother, John Mary,
made a magnificent funeral in her
honour, and the people began at once
utrate her as a great saint.

Papebroch, in AA.SS., from her auto
biography, written by order of her con-
H<r life lias been written in
Italian by ( 'inmrella, and also by Passino.

St. Barbada, P.\n.\ I'.AKHATA.

St. Barbalaba. or BAKBALADI \. .A I.

at Antioch. .1.1. NX.

St. Barbara ( I », Dec. -i, Hi, V. M.
(BAHBE, BAKMU .. HASIA, or VAHVAKA i.

•J:;."> or 306. Call. .1 by .I«>hn Knox "the
^imnaris g«,ddr.<s." She is one of tin-
ioui-iiM n .\r\ii.i LBI SAINTS. Supj.
to 1.. tl;. ( 'lu-istian adaptation of the god
dess of war. Hi-presented i I i with a

miniature tower in her hand ; ( J ) with a
tower behind her, a crown on her head,
and holding a palm or a sword ; at her
left side a chalice, with the sun in it as
the sacred wafer, as if she were credited
with giving the last sacraments to those
who die suddenly in piety. In German
and Flemish pictures she holds an
ostrich's or a peacock's feather, in allu
sion to the phoonix at Heliopolis, where
she was born. The flesh of the phoenix
was said by the ancients to be incor
ruptible, so the bird became the symbol
of apotheosis and of a happy immortality
or long life.

BARBARA, CATHERINE, EUPHEMIA, and
MARGARET are the four great patrons of
the Eastern Church. Barbara was patron
of armourers, gunsmiths, artillery-men,
brewers, tilers, thatchers, carpenters,
masons, architects, sappers and miners,
bell-ringers, hatters; of all dangerous
trades involving liability to sudden
death ; also of the goldsmiths at Rome ;
of firearms and fortifications; against
storms, thunderbolts, sudden death, and
final impenitence ; of Hungary ; of the
cities of Mantua, Ferrara, and Guastalla ;
of Culemburg and Pedena in Istria.

The legend of St. Barbara is that she
was the daughter of Dioscurus, a rich
nobleman, who, fearing she should be
taken from him by marriage on account
of her great beauty, built a tower in
which to keep her. Here she lived and
watched the stars until she became con
vinced that they could not have been
made by her father's gods. Having
heard of a new and purer religion, she
contrived to receive instruction and bap
tism from a Christian priest disguised as
a physician. Her father began to build
her a bathing-place in the garden, but
before it was finished, ho had to go on a
long journey. During his absence, she
went to look at the building, and finding
that Dioscurus had ordered two windows
to bo made in it, she persuaded the work
men, notwithstanding their fear of dis
obeying their master, to make three
windows in honour of the Trinity. See
ing a marble pillar beside the fountain,
she made the sign of the cross on it,
which remained there as if engravd
upon the marble. After her martyrdom

100

B. BARBARA

many came to pray at the spot, and, look
ing on the cross, were healed of their
infirmities. On the return of Dioscurus
from his journey, he asked why there
were three windows in the chamber.
Barbara explained to him the mystic
significance of the number three, and
avowed herself a Christian. He was so
enraged as to be on the point of stabbing
her ; but bethinking him that he might
thereby get himself into trouble, he
denounced her to the governor of the
place, who tried in vain to persuade her
to abjure her religion, and then ordered
her to be tortured. Her wounds were
miraculously healed. Whereupon the
governor said that as the gods showed
her such compassion, she must not be
ungrateful, but sacrifice to them. As
she remained firm, notwithstanding re
peated and varied tortures, she was con
demned to be led through the city without
any clothing. She prayed that she might
be hidden from the eyes of unbelievers,
and she was covered from head to foot
with a brightness like a vesture. The
governor then ordered her to be be
headed. She was taken to a hill where
malefactors were put to death. Her
father, being at his own request her
executioner, cut off her head. He re
turned immediately to the city, boasting
of the service he had done to the gods,
and saying that he deserved to be
honoured by the Emperor, and to have
Ids name perpetuated. While he was
speaking, a thunderbolt fell from heaven
and destroyed him utterly, so that nothing
remained of his body ; as Barbara's soul
went up, his went down ; and while she
was glorified among the martyrs, he was
torn by demons.

St. Barbara has long been honoured
in the Latin, Greek, Kussian, and Syriac
Churches, but her history is obscured by
a variety of false Acts. Baronius follows
those that say she was a disciple of
Origen, and was martyred at Nicomedia
in the time of Maximinus I., who raised
the sixth general persecution after the
murder of Alexander Severus, -M.~>.
Assemani, however, on the authority of
other Aft*, says that she was martyred
at Heliopolis, in Egypt, in the reign of
Galerius, about the year ;><><;. The

Greek Synaxary and the Emperor Basil's
MeiuJn'jy support this opinion. A very
old monastery at Edessa was dedicated
in her name. R.M., Dec. 4. Usuard
and Molanus, Dec. 1<¥>. Ado of Treves.
Yillegas. Metaphrastes. Butler. Mrs.
Jameson. (,'ahier, CaracMrutique*.

Among the objects furnished for the
processions of Corpus Christi by and in
the borough of Dundee, were " Sane
Barlill caatel, a crcdil an<l litre lmrni#
maid of claith, Abraamis luit, and tJire
licdia of hayr." Scottish Review, No. 12,
quoting Maxwell's IL'ntnry of Old Dun-
dee.

B. Barbara (2), Sept. i. -f U72.
Daughter of Albert the Pious, Duke of
Bavaria, and Duchess Anna, daughter of
Duke Erick of Brunswick. Duke Albert
refused the crown of Bohemia, lest, be
coming engrossed with its cares and
pomps, he should lose the heavenly
crown. In the same spirit his daughter
despised all worldly state, and refused
the crown of France. From the age of
five she was brought up in the nunnery
of St. Clara am Antjer, at Munich. After
her parents' death, and before she had
taken any vows, ambassadors arrived
from the young King of France, to ask
her to be his wife. Her brother, Albert
II., the Wise, told her of the offer, and
asked for her decision. She said she
would take three days to consider. At
the end of that time she gave her answer,
namely, that where her parents had
placed her, there she would serve God
lor the rest of her life. Albert agreed,
and had the gate of the convent guarded,
lest the French should attempt to carry
her off. Barbara had in her possession
three presents from her parents, which
she valued very much : a plant of rose
mary ; a cage containing a great number
of birds of various kinds, which sang
with her when she sang hymns and
psalms; and a gold chain, which, with
permission of her superiors, she always
wore. She was just seventeen when all
at once the bush died, the birds died, and
the chain broke. She saw in this coinci
dence a warning of approaching death,
for which sho devoutly prepared, and
gave up her innocent soul. She had
twenty companions about her own age,

B. HASH. A

101

all of whom used to join in singing
prayers an 1 praises in the choir. Four-
'teen days after Barbara's death one of
these maidens died ; in fourteen days
more another died ; and so on, at regular
intervals, until all the twenty were gone
to sing with her in heaven. Stadler tind
lleim, from Kader.

B. Barbara i •'> ), or BARBK, April is.
Carmelite. ( 'tilled in religion MAHY OP
THE INCARNATION. 156.5— 10 IS. She was
born in Paris, and was daughter of
Nicholas Avrillot, seigneur de Champlu-
tronx, maitre des comptes. She married
Pierre Acarie, and had six children. He
died 1 •>!.'>, and she became a lay sister
in the Order of Reformed or Barefooted
Carmelites at Amiens. Her daughter,
Margaret Acarie, was a very devout
Carmelite nun. (Sec THERESA (7).) In
I-'IMUCO Barbara was regarded as founder
of the order, because it was through her
exertions and representations that it was
introduced into that country. The nuns
at Amiens pressed her in vain to become
tin ir abbess. She died a nun, at Pon-
toise, in a community of Reformed
Carmelites, of which the VEX. ANNA OP
.ST. BARTHOLOMEW was the first prioress.
Miracles were ascribed to Barbara. The
queen-mother, Marie de' Medici, erected
a magnificent tomb in her honour, and
headed the efforts made to procure her
canonization. In 17i>2 she was declared
" Blessed " by Pius VI. In the Martyro-
/./•/// ,,/' //„• 0,-l-r of Barefooted Car-
/' -v, she appears as " Blessed Mary of
the Incarnation." She seems, however,
to be generally remembered as Barbo
Avrillot, probably because many nuns
have taken the name of Mary of the
Incarnation, amongst them two saintly
French women, contemporary with Bar-
lura; they were Amaurie Trochet and
Murie (hiyard. Neither of them is
honoured with worship or with a place
in the calendars. A.E.M. Midland,
Biographit I rnit* r+> II, . Jinxjrafia Err!* M-
iisticti. i;.irb;ir.i's Li/.- has been written
l>y Duval. M;mri(v, jmd others.

St. Barbata i I i, \VH...I:KHITIS.

St. Barbata « 2 >, P.M-I.A HARBATA.

St. Barbe, HAKHARA.

St. Barbea, .Ian. 21', s,-:,t. :» (Bran,
BKVEA, I-'I\KA, THIBEA). 1st or 2nd

century. M. at Edessa in Syria, with
her brother St. Sarbelius or Sabbellu<,
a heathen priest in the time of Tnijun
(!'7-l 17) or that of Hadrian (117-1 .
They were converted by St. Barsimteus,
Bishop of Edessa, and afterwards
brought many Greeks to Christianity.
Sarbelius was sawn asunder. Barbea,
after having the. ilesh scourged off her
bones, was despatched by a spear-wound
in the back of her head. 11. M., Jan. 29.
AA.SS; Jan. 29, Sept. 4. In the
Afatoloyy of Basil, Sept. «">, they are
called Thuthael and Bebea ; in Slavo
nian calendars, Sept. .">, Thiphael and
Thibea, or Fifael and Fivea.

St. Barbill, BARBARA (1).

St. Baripsabe, Sept. in. In some
Eastern calendars Baripsabe's name is
added to those of SS. MENODORA, METRO-
DIM: A, and XYMPHODORA. Greeco-Slavonic
C'lb'itiliir.

Baris, PARIS, or BARKA, March 20,
M. with ANNA (7).

St. Baromia, BEATA (1).

St. Barran, Aug. J», an Irish V.
Kelly's Calendar, from " Martyrology of
Tallagh."

B. Bartolommea (1), May I1.', V.
of Siena, "f i;34S. She changed her
name to ELIZABETH on entering the
Third Order of Servites or Servants of
Mary, founded by ST. JULIANA FALCONIERI.
Bartolommea was a beloved disciple of
the Blessed Francis of Sienna, of the
same order. Her relics were kept in
the church of the Servants of Mary at
Siena, and worked miracles, her head
being particularly beneficial to de
moniacs. Papebroch, in AA.SS. Mas
Latric, Tirsor.

St. Baruaba. See FAITH, HOPE, and
CHARITY.

St. Basa (1), Sept. 21, M. at Tyre.
Greek Symtxary, quoted by the AA.SS.

SS. Basa (2), BAKHA (i), Aug. 21.

St. Basia (l),or II XMI.IA, May 19, M.
at (retulia, in Africa. AA.SS.

St. Basia (2), UAKT-AKA.

St. Basila, or HAHUSSA, Sept. 22, M.
with SS. Arur.A (10) and XUSCA. They
are worshipped at Ostia and in Via
Salaria. Basila's body is kept in the
church of St. Paul at Rome. Perhaps
the same as ST. BASSILLA, M. o<>4, who

102

ST. BASILIA

is honoured tbc same day. Papebroch,
in AA.SS.

St. Basilia, BASIA, etc. Seven
martyrs who suffered at different times
and places occur on different days in the
calendars ; one of them was put to death
at Alexandria with Leonides, the father
of Origen, April 22, c. 204. AA.SS.

St. Basilica (1), or BASILISSA (7),
Nov. 1 8, M. Sister of OHICULA.

St. Basilica (2), PLACIDIA (1).

St. Basilica (;i), same as BASILISSA
(8), Abbess of Horres.

St. Basilissa (1), April 15. Mar
tyred with ST. ANASTASIA at Rome, in
the time of Nero. Eepresented burying
the martyrs. They were women of rank,
and disciples of the Apostles. Their
tongues were cut out, and their feet cut
off, and they were slain by the sword.
EM. Callot. Husenbeth.

St. Basilissa (2), BASILLA, or BAS-
SILA, March 22, 26, M. under Decius. c.
252. A rich woman, who gave money,
for the Christians, to St. Callinica ; both
were put to death when discovered.
RJL, March 22.

St. Basilissa («), Sept. ;-J, V. Mar
tyred at Nicomedia, under Diocletian.
When she was nine years old she was
denounced as a Christian to Alexander
the governor, and was by his order
scourged, then her ankles were pierced
and she was hung up with her head
down, and tormented with the smoke of
pitch and sulphur, next she was cast
into the fire, and being taken out unhurt,
two lions were let loose against her,
but they would not touch her. When
Alexander saw those miracles and the
courage and determination of the child,
he believed in Christ, and begged her to
pray for him. He reformed his life, and
died in peace. Set at liberty, Basilissa
went out of the city, and being thirsty
she prayed and a fountain of water
sprang up from the earth ; she drank,
and gave thanks ; then standing on a
stone and praying, she gave up her soul
to God, and the faithful are cured of
all diseases at the fountain to this day.

AA.SS. Mi-noloijy af ]>«sil.

St. Basilissa (4), or BASSILA, April
10, V. Martyr of Corinth, drowned.
See CHARIESSA.

St. Basilissa (:>), March 12, M.
Daughter of Cone or Clone, wife, either
of Eustasius, a priest, or of Felicon. Put
to death with them and several others in
Asia. AA.SS.

St. Basilissa ((>), Jan. <>, M. 3rd
century. Also called ST. CASTELLAXA,
and in Mart. Salisbury ST. CASTELL.
Wife of St. Julian the Hospitaller, and
commemorated with him in the llnnum
Martyr ology.

Basilissa and Julian are represented
(1) with lilies, roses, and crowns; (2)
holding one lily between them ; (JJ) look
ing together into the book of life, where
their names are written.

He is a patron of travellers, ferrymen,
boatmen, and travelling minstrels who
wander from door to door.

The legend of SS. Julian and Basilissa
is as follows : —

He was a noble count, fond of the
pleasures of the world, of the chase in
the green wood by day, and the revel in
his castle by night. One day when he
was hunting a deer, it turned round and
spoke, foretelling that he should cause
the death of his father and mother. The
horrified count resolved never to return
to his home where so terrible a fate
awaited him, so he turned his horse
and fled from the country. He travelled
through many lands, and at last entered
the service of a certain king, found favour
with him, was promoted to great honour,
and married a rich, noble, and beautiful
widow named Basilissa, with whom he
lived very happily for some years, and
almost forgot the doom that had driven
him into exile. Meantime his father and
mother, having sought and sent messengers
in vain in search of their only son, set-
out themselves to look for him. When
they had travelled a long time — some
times finding traces of him, and some
times nearly losing hope — they came
one night to a castle and asked for a,
night's shelter there. The lady of the
house received the pilgrims hospitably
for Christ's sake. When she had heard
who they were and whom they sought,
she was very glad, and said, " Blessed
be God, who has brought you to your
son's house! Julian is with the king
to-night, but he will return to-morrow.

ST. BASILISSA

108

I am IJasilissa, liis wife. Rest with us,
and all that we have is yours." Then
she waited upon them dutifully, gave
them supper, and put them to sleep in
her own bed. Xext morning, before
daylight, she went to church, to give
thanks for the arrival of her husband's
nts. During her absence Julian
returned, and went straightway to Basi-
li.-sa's room. In the twilight he saw
two persons asleep there. Without a
moment's consideration, he drew his
sword and killed them both. As he
rushed madly from the house, he met
Basilissa returning from church, radiant
with happiness, and eager to tell him
of the arrival of his father and mother.
Then Julian knew what he had done,
and understood that the fate from which
he had fled had overtaken him. Ho
told Basilissa he must leave her, for
he could not stay in his home nor rest
in peace until he had done penance
and obtained pardon for this dreadful
crime. liasilissa said she would go
with him. They left their castle, and
wandered on loot until they came to
the hank of a river where persons were
often drowned in attempting to cross
the water. There Julian built a cell
tor himself, and a hospital for the poor.
II' ferried travellers across the stream
by day or night, in summer or winter,
while Basilissa tended the poor and the
sick in the hospital. One night in
winter, when the river was swollen with
rain and torrents from the mountains,
and was raging past his door, he heard
a voice calling him from the opposite
bank. He went across, and found a
young leper, who appeared to be dying
"f mid and fatigue. He brought him
over the ferry, placed him in his own
bed, and watched by him with Basilissa
until morning. At daybreak the lep«-r
arose ; his face shone like that of an
angel, and saying to Julian, " Thy
penance is accepted, and thy rest is
near," he vanished out of their sight.
Shortly afterwards they both died.

Then; an- thirty-six Saints Julian in
the litinimi -1 fiti-fifi •«/«;/ if; seven of tin in
ure commemorated in.lunuury. Thereare
also many Saints I'.asilissa, and some who
are called indifferently BASIUI.I»A, BA-

. BASSILLA, BASSA, etc. ; hence there
is some confusion, and it is not always
easy to disentangle them. St. Julian
and his wife are believed to have lived
at Antinoe, in Egypt. They spent their
lives and substance in charity, and made
their house a hospital, serving Jesus
Christ in His poor and sick, someti
entertaining as many as a thousand.
Julian attended to the men in one part
of the house, while Basilissa took care
of the women in another. On account of
the trials she endured for the love of
God, and because she sustained the
courage of so many who were persecuted
under Diocletian, Basilissa has a place
among the martyrs, although she died a
natural death. Julian survived her about
a year, and was put to death in the same
persecution. On his way to martyrdom,
as ho passed a school, the boys came out
into the street to see the martyr go by.
Celsus, the son of the governor, was one
of them. Ho called out that he saw the
angels accompanying Julian, and giving
him a crown ; then, throwing away his
books and exclaiming, " I believe in the
God of the Christians," he fell at the
feet of Julian. The governor ordered
the boy to be kept all night in a horrible
dungeon with Julian. During the night
Antony, a priest who had the care of
seven little orphan boys, summoned by
an angel, went with his boys to the
prison, and baptized Celsus and some of
the guards, who were converted. The
governor, supposing his little son must
have had quite enough of Christianity
in one night in prison, sent him now to
his mother. Ho told her all that had
happened, and she also believed, and was
baptized by Antony. They were all put
to death, the seven boys by fire. A. !.>'>'.
Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and L''</>'n<l«ii/
Art, ii. Mnrtij,-n,n A>-t<t. Butler. Mar
tin. Baillet says they are commemorated
on several different days in different
places, which partly accounts for tho
great number of I J \MI.I.\S and BASI
LICAS.

St. Basilissa < 7 ), or BASILICA (2),
M. 0, 400 or LQ8. Sister of ST. Oui-
< ri. \.

St. Basilissa (8), or BASH .1,
Dec. .\May '2". t '""• ( )-S-1

104

ST. BASILLA

and successor of ST. ANASTASI^, Abbess of
Horres,nearTreves. Bucelinus, 3/<'H. Ben,

St. Basilla (M, May L'n, Sept. 22
('BASILIA, BASILISSA, BASSILLA, etc.), V.
M. c. 804. Of royal lineage, and be
trothed to a man of equal rank, to whom
the Golden Legend gives the name of
Pompey. As he was a heathen, she
would not be married to him. He ap
pealed to the Emperor Gallienus, who
said she must be married forthwith or
she should be pierced with a sword.
She said she already had the King of
kings for her husband, and could not
have another. She was put to death, and
was buried in the ancient Via Salaria,
in a cemetery that belonged to her, and
which has sometimes been called by her
name, and sometimes by the names of
other martyrs buried there. Her body
was removed to the church of ST. PRAS-
SEDE, in the 9th century. She is com
memorated in the ancient Roman Calendar,
compiled in the middle of the 4th cen
tury, and that of St. Jerome shows that
she was worshipped at her own cemetery
on Sept. 22. She is also honoured on
Sept. 1 1 , with ST. EUGENIA and SS. Protus
and Hyacinthus. R.M., May 20. Pape-
broch, in AA.SS., Sept. 22. Baillet, Vies.
Le'f/ende Dore'e. Canisius.

St. Basilla (2), or BASILISSA, May
17, M. at Alexandria with SS. Adrion
and Victor. R.M.

St. Basilla (3), Aug. 29 (BASILA,
BASILISSA), M. at Smyrna, or Syrmium,
or Sirmich. EM. AA.SS.

St. Basilla (4), Dec. 24 or 25. Fer-
rarius calls her mother of ST. EUGENIA,
but the legend gives Claudia as the name
of Eugenia's mother.

St. Basiola, or BASJELA, June K-J,
M. Wife of St. George, tortured and
martyred with many others in Abyssinia,
encouraging her husband and the rest
to the last. AA.SS.

St. Basjela, BASIOLA.

Bassa, Basia, BASILA, BASILLA,
BASILIA, BASILICA, BASILCA, BASSILA,
BASSILICA, BASSILIA, BASSILLA, BASILISSA,
BASSILISSA, are sometimes written one
for the other. Many saints and martyrs
bore these names. Three Bassas appear
in the R.M., March 0, Aug. 1<>, and
Aug. 21.

Bassa, or Bassila, or Bassilla was a
Latin name derived from Bassus. Basilia
Mid Basilissa are feminine forms of the
Greek name Basil, a king, and were very
popular in the Koman empire at the time
when the great persecutions occurred.
Basilica and Basilca appear to be variants
of Basilia or Basil issa ; the « and the /
seem to have been doubled or loft single
in the calendars, at the discretion of the
copyist. Basa may have been a separate
name, but the SS. BASA, Sept. 21 and
Aug. 21, are identified with the SS.
BASSA of those dates. Basta is perhaps
a clerical error for Bassa.

St. Bassa (l), or BASA, Aug. 21,
M. at Edessa, in Syria, in the tenth
persecution, end of ttrd or beginning of
4th century, under Maximian.

The Roman Martyrology says that she
encouraged her three sons in their Chris
tian profession and martyrdom, and,
having sent them before her to receive
the palm, she was beheaded and followed
them joyfully.

The Menoloyy of Baxil, and the account
given by Pinius the Bollandist, say
further that she was the wife of a heathen
priest named Valerius, who accused her
and her sons before the prefect as Chris
tians. The sons, whose names were
Theognes or Theogonius, Agapius, and
Fidelis or Pistis, one by one underwent
the most horrible tortures, one being
flayed, another torn to pieces, while their
mother stood by and encouraged them
to endure to the end. Having seen them
all die triumphantly rather than give up
their religion, Bassa endured indescrib
able torments, but was miraculously pre
served from injury. At last the baffled
prefect had her thrown into the sea,
whereupon angels took her in a boat to
the island of Halo, in the Hellespont.
Her wonderful escapes were related to
Philip, an officer of the government in
Greece, with the representation that a
woman who had practised so many sor
ceries should not be suffered to live. So
he sent and had her beheaded. Her
sous are honoured with her. Pinius says
their martyrdom may have taken place
at Larissa, instead of Edessa. R.M.
AA.SS. Men. Uasil.

St. Bassa (2;, March <>, M. Wife of

ST. HATI!IU>K

105

St. Cluiulian. They were tortured and
imprisoned with SS. \ ictor and A ic-
turiuus, and all died in prison in the
course of three years, either at Apamea
n Nicomedia, cities of Bithynia. R.M.
SS.

St. Bassa (:J), Aug. K>, with SS.
PAI'I.A ami Ac ATHONICA, VV. MM. at
Carthage. KM. AA.SS.

St. Bassa ( 4), BASA (1).

SS. Bassa < 5-9 >. Besides the above,
five appear as martyrs.

St. Bassenes. Sec FAITH, HOPE, and

< 'll \l;l IV.

St. Bassila, or BASILISSA, or BAS-
SILLA, Fob. 17, M. at Home, with many
others. AA.SS.

St. Bassilia, Feb. 2S, M. with many
others. AA.SS.

St. Basta, Aug. in, V. M. at Car
thage. Perhaps the same as BASSA, com
memorated on this day with PAULA and
AGATHOMCA.

St. Bathilde ( 1 ), Jan. 20, 3o.
•f ''••"». i BADECHILD, BALDECHILD, BALD-
HII.I), B A i. TILDA, BAUDOUK, BAUDURIA,
HIKULT, BAUTOUR, BETILDA, VAR-
I'.rm.is. i Queen of France. Patron and
founder of the abbeys of Chelles and
Corbie.

Represented as queen and nun, with a
ladder, in allusion to a vision, or as a pun
upon the word Chelles (echette, a ladder ).

Wife of Clovis II. (G.'J8-05(j), and
mother of Clothaire III., Childeric II.,
and Thierry III.

< >t ( 'lovis II. the Chronicle of St. Denis
says, " Jji crxtui roy Loys puet />« plux
ilin- <!>• inn! <ine de mal quc de bien" He
was tolerably devout, but had so many
vices that they eclipsed his virtues: ho
waH drunken, gluttonous, and dissolute.
His wife was '•</• H-jmnje Saisoigne, Bau-
tlii'iit limit non, sainte dame ct reliyicuse
>t ji/niiH <l, \,\ y, mar nostre Sell/Hour; et
/••it «n</,' tin an' ft de grant biaute, *i fu
cellc qn I'm <lif * i!,,te Jtautlricutde Chelle."
»Sho was a slave in the house of Erkon-
w:ild or Archibald, mayor of the palace,
who married her to Clovis as soon as he
was grown up. According to Sismondi,
she had refused to become the mistress
"1 Erkonwald. Sim is claimed by the
-lish hagiographers as an Anglo-
•11 lady of rank, carried oft' by pirates,

and sold in France to Krkonwald's first
\\iic, on whose death Krkonwald pro-
post -d to marry Bathilde, but she fled,
and only returned to his service when ho
hud married again. Others say she was
daughter of a king in Germany, and was
carried captive in war by Clovis. As a
fact, her origin is unknown. Mezeray
observes on this point that when one has
risen to high rank, " on n'a qu'a chfnsir lit
race dont on veut etre dencendu."

Slaves were publicly sold in the market
at St. Denis near the abbey. The traffic
was protected by the abbot. When Ba
thilde became queen she enacted laws to
mitigate the condition of slaves, and to
prevent Christians being sold as such.

One day Clovis II. went to the abbey
of St. Denis to see the holy relics. Not
content with looking at them, he wished
to have one to wear, and therefore broko
off a bone of the arm of St. Denis. The
same hour the king was struck with mad
ness. To appease the offended saint, he
gave him several towns, and had the bone
covered with pure gold and gems, and
put back. He recovered his memory,
and lived two years more, but was never
the same man again.

After his death, in bV>»>, Bathilde was
Regent for some years. She was uni
versally respected, but she seems to have
confined her attention to matters ecclesi
astical and religious, leaving secular
affairs mainly in the hands of the mayors
of the palace. She succeeded, however,
in relieving the poor people from some
of their grievances, especially a capitation
tax, which caused great misery. She is
a remarkable instance of a woman raised
from the lowest to the highest station,
acting invariably with conscientious dis
cretion, sympathizing with those whose
sufferings she had once known, generous
and kind to all, the friend of the best and
greatest men of her time.

liathildc's great devotion to St. Eloy,
goldsmith, prime minister, and bishop,
was probably inspired by his kindness
to Saxon slaves, as well as by his other
saintly qualities. In tJ.V.i she heard he
was dying. She hastened to Noyon,
with the little kings, the court, and a
crowd of nobles, who had a great affection
for the venerable prelate. They hoped

100

ST. BATHILDE

to receive his blessing, but to« their great
grief he was already dead when they
arrived. The queen, in the depth of her
sorrow, had only the consolation of un
covering and reverently kissing the dead
face. She wished to bury him in her
monastery of Choi les. The nobles wanted
to have him laid in their capital. The
clergy and people of Noyon considered
him their own saint, and refused to give
up the sacred remains. The departed
bishop declared for his own flock, for
when the coffin was to be taken away, it
was found impossible to move it. As he
was to be buried in the monastery of St.
Loup (afterwards called St. Eloi), Ba-
thildo insisted on accompanying the
funeral cnrte.ye on foot, and would not
mount the horse provided for her.

Her three sons, like the rest of the
faineant kings, were puppets in the hands
of the mayors of the palace, who divided
the three kingdoms among their nominal
masters, dethroning or reinstating them
at will, and quarrelling and fighting for
their own interests all the time. The
most distinct account I have met with of
these faineant reigns is in Mezeray's
History of France.

To quote again the Chronicle of St.
Denis —

"Des lors commenga li roianmc de
France a abeisser et a decheoir et li Roi
a fourlignier du sens et de la puissance
de leur anccssours. Si estoit le roiaumes
gouvernez par Chambellenz et par Con-
nestables qui estoient apele Maistre du
palais ne li lloi n'avoient tant seulement
quo le non, ne de riens ne servoient fors
de boire et de mengier. En un chastel
ou en un manon demouroient toute 1'anee
jusques aus Kal de May. Lors issoient
hors en un chaarz pour saluer le pueple,
et pour estre salue d'eulz, dons et presens
prenoient, et aucuns en rendoient, puiz
retournoient a Fostel et estoient einssi
jusqu' aus autres Kal de May."

It was during Bathilde's regency that
Corbie, a great estate in Picardy, reverted
to the Crown. It had been given to
Gontland, a Frank, but feudal grants
were not yet hereditary, and on his death
it became the property of the three little
imbecile kings. For their souls, the soul
of their mad father, her own soul, and

the good of the people, Bathilde built at
Corbie the famous monastery of St. Peter,
for monks under the rule of St. Colum-
banus.

During her husband's life she had
magnificently refounded the abbey of
St. George at Chellcs on the Marne,
about ten miles from Paris. It was first
founded by ST. CLOTILDA ( 1 ). After
some years of regency, Bathilde retired
from the cares of government, and placed
herself under ST. BERTILLA, whom she
had appointed Abbess of Chelles. Sho
declined any distinction as queen or
foundress, but swept the cloisters and
worked in the kitchen like the humblest
nun. On her death-be;! she was cheered
with a vision of a luminous ladder, which
angels were calling her to ascend.

Her name is in the .R.Jf., Jan. 2<> ; in
the French Mart., Jan. MO. Sismondi,
Histoirc dcs Francai*. Le Glay, La Gaulv
Belyique. Chronicle of St. Denix. Meze-
ray, Life of St. Bertlta, and other saints
of the period, given by Bouquet, Butler,
Baillet, and the other collectors of Lives
of Saint*.

St. Bathilde ('2), or RADEGUXD (2 ), of
Chelles. -f <.-. <>?!>.

SS. Bathusa and Verca, MM.
c. :-J70, in Gothia, now Roumania. Mas
Latrie, Tre'sor.

St. Battona. A name erroneously
given to ST. DOMINICA of Tropea.

St. Baudegonde, BALDEGUND.

St. Baudour, BATHILDE (1).

St. Bauduria, BATHILDE (1).

St. Baula, Sept. 27. Coptic Calendar.
AA.SS.

St. Bausame, BALSAMIA. AA.SS.

St. Bauterina, Jan. 1 s, M. at Avitina.
AA.88.

St. Bauthieult, BATHILDE (1).

St. Bautour, BATHILDE (1).

St. Bauzanne, BALSAMIA.

St. Baya, VEY.

St. Bazalota, Juno <l. 4th century.
Nun in Abyssinia. Sister of St. Michael,
a venerable old priest. Commemorated
with him and ST. EUPHEMIA in the Abys
sinian Hagiology. Papebroch, in AA.SS.

St. Bazilia. .SV<- SILA.

St. Beata < 1 ), March 8 (BAKOMIA,
BEUA, BKHKMA, BKKOMA, BIRONA, or
BOKKMA », M. in Africa with St. Cyril,

B. BEATRICE D'ESTE

107

bishop, the holy women HKKKMA and
FKLKMTAS, and other martyrs. P.M.
AA.SS.

St. Beata < -), BKNKDK TA.

St. Beatrice (1), Jan. 2'.', July L".'

(1JKATIMX, VlATBIX i, V. M. 303.

Kepresented holding a rope in her left
hand and a candle in her right. (Husen-
beth, from MS. "Hours.")

A Roman maiden. Sister of the
martyrs Simplicius and Fauslinus, whom
she buried in the Via Portuensi. She
was strangled by the servants in her
own house, by order of Lucretius, to
whom she was betrothed, and who had
denounced her as a Christian, that he
might seize on her wealth. She was
buried by ST. LUCINA, with whom she
had lived for seven months. While
Lucretius was feasting with his friends
and speaking in an insulting manner of
the Christian martyrs, ho heard a voice
say, " Hear, O Lucretius, thou hast
killed and taken possession, therefore
th« u art «:iveii into the hands of the
enemy." He turned pale and trembled,
the devil entered into him and vexed
him for three hours, and then he died.
All the guests were so terrified that they
became ( 'hi istians, and told every one
how St. Beatrice had been avenged.
The ].«!>/< it>l<ir<<> says the mysterious
voice was that of an infant whom a
woman was nursing as she stood among
the crowd. The church of Bethersdeu,
in Kent, is the only one in England
dedicated in honour of St. Beatrice. P.M.,
July 2'.'. Ma lit/mm Art,/. Villegas.

St. Beatrice (2), or BOZENA, Nov.
1 .:. 1 2th or early 1 :>th century. Bozena
was probably her Bohemian name, that
of Beatrice she most likely adopted on
taking the veil. Her father, Sezima,
belonged to one of the most noble and
powerful families of Bohemia, the Counts
of (Juttcnstein and the ( Wilts of Wrtby.
Her mother was I Jobroslava, of the family
of the Cernine. Her brother Hrosnata
is one of the famous saints and patrons
of Bohemia; he built, in 11SMI, a
monastery of the Promionstrateusian
Order. These saints are supposed to
have 1,, .n born at Tepl. Beatrice had a
sister WOYSI.AVA, a holy widow, and two
unmarried sisters, Bohuslawa and Judith,

who became nuns with her in the
monastery of Chotiessow. The dates of
her birth and death are not known.
Hrosnata died at an advanced age in
1217. The Bollandists promise a J
of Beatrice on her day. The above is
from their Lift- of St. HroBnatn, July 4,
and H. J. Karlik's Hroznata und die
Pn'iiuoiixti'iift //x- /• Al'f'-I Tf'pl.

B. Beatrice (:i; d'Este, May in, V.
l_'i Mi- 124»5. Three women of this name
and family are honoured for their
sanctity; they all lived in the i::th
century. This one was daughter of Azo,
first Marquis of Este, Lord of Ancona,
Ferrara, Verona, etc. Her mother was
the Princess Leonora, daughter of
Thomas III., of Savoy. Beatrice was
born in the Castle of Este. At the ago
of fourteen she became a nun in the-
convent of St. Margaret, at Solarola, near
Este. When she had been there a year
and a half, finding the place liable to be
disturbed by soldiers, she removed, with
the approbation of the Bishop of Padua,
to the monastery of St. John the Baptist
at Gemmola, or Demola, in his diocese.
It had been deserted by monks. She
restored it for herself and her com
panions, with the help of her brother
Azo. B. JULIANA OF Cm.i.Ai/ro was one
of ten nuns who settled with her at
Gemmola. Some money was found on
the altar, and although there was nono
but that in the house, Beatrice gave it
away in alms, lest it should bo a begin
ning of avarice in the community. Six
years after her death her body and the
epitaph were translated to the church of
St. Sophia at Padua. For many years
afterwards it was observed that when
ever anything important was about to-
happen in the family of Este, she turned
round in her place, and a great noise
was heard in the chapel. Bucelinus,
Men. />»//., May In, and Lifr of B.
Juli'iiKi <>f Cnllalto, Sept. 1. Bucolinus.
gives 122<» as her date, but I think it is
the date of her taking the veil. Her
name does not appear in the Roman.
Miii-tyralo'jii, but her nieeo ami namesake
i- <all«l "Blessed Beatrice Estcw
S> «•////»/./," implying that the aunt is tho
first. Muratori, /I ////>////// />•/. »«<'. Pape-
i. in I I s v

108

B. BEATRICE D'ESTE

B. Beatrice (4) d'Este, Jan. 18,
Feb. 28. f 12<>2 or 127<». Niece of
BEATRICE (3). Daughter of Azo, second
Marquis of Ferrara, Mantua, Verona,
and Ancona. Her mother was Joanna,
sister of Robert, King of Apulia. He
must have been one of the Norman dukes
of Apulia, probably the last before the
absorption of the dukedom into the
kingdom of Naples in 1265. Beatrice
walked from her childhood in the steps
of her blessed aunt of the same name.
She had many suitors, among whom her
father chose Galeazzo Manfredi, Lord of
Vicenza and Verardino. Preparations
were made for a grand and gay wedding.
Beatrice was sent off with a train of
noble ladies and gentlemen to meet her
bridegroom. When they arrived at
Milan, a messenger met them with the
sad news that Galeazzo had just died of
wounds received in battle. The wedding
party sadly took their way back to
Ferrara, but the bride would not re-enter
the city or return to the life she had left.
She stopped at St. Lazarus, near Ferrara.
She changed her gay attire for the dress
of the poor people, and said she would
now choose a husband of whom no
earthly accident could deprive her.
Seven noble maidens, who had been the
companions of her brilliant wedding
journey, and four of her serving-women,
volunteered to remain with her. They
were joined by so many others that the
place was too small, and Azo built and
endowed a new Benedictine monastery
for her, with the approbation of the Pope.
It was at first dedicated in the name of
St. Stephen de Rupta, but was afterwards
called St. Anthony's. Beatrice took the
veil in 1254, and lived there fifteen years
with great austerity, piety, and charity.
She died Jan. 18, 1270, and was imme
diately honoured as a saint. Her
worship was approved by Clement XIV.
(17IJK-1775). Pius VI. (1775-1800)
conceded a festival, Jan. 1 1), with office
und Mass. Her name is in the Bene-
(lictuif Appendix to the Roman Nartyro-
loyy as "The second Blessed Beatrice
of Este, Virgin," Jan. 18 and Feb. 28.
AA.SS. Boll., Jan., vol. ii., Add<'n<l«,
and Jan. 18. Officia Propria Sanctorum
Etrurise, etc., prayers and lessons for

Jan. 1!>. Bucelinus, Men. Ben.., Jan.

18.

B. Beatrice (5) d'Este, July ll.
13th century. Queen of Hungary. The
third B. Beatrice of Este was daughter
of Aldobrandino, Marquis of Este, who
died when she was a child, and she w;is
adopted by his brother, Azo VII. She
was about sixteen when, in 1234, she
became the third wife of her cousin
Andrew II., King of Hungary, an old
man and the father of ST. ELIZABETH of
Thuringia. His family were much dis
pleased, as they did not wish him to have
a son by his young wife. Before long
he died. His posthumous son Stephen
was brought up at Este, and married
successively two Italian ladies, by one
of whom he had a son, Andrew III.,
King of Hungary, father of another ST.
ELIZABETH (17). Beatrice became a nun
at Gemmola. The Bollandists say there
is no authority for the worship of this
one. She is called " Blessed " by Wion
and a few other writers. AA.SS.
Muratori, Antichita Estensi, I. 41!», ft
seq. ; Mailath, Hist, of Hunyary, i. 171.

B. Beatrice (6), March 12, 13. Pra-
monstratensian nun at Porto, Angelica,
on the Moselle, in the diocese of Treves.
The Bollandists could not discover her
history. They found she was mentioned
by Galenius and in the records of the
order. Saussaye, Murtyrologiuw Gfdli-
canum, March 12. Natolibus. Lo
Paige, Billiothcca Prsemonstratensii Or-
dinis, and Annotations to Baronius.

B. Beatrice (7), Feb. 28, July 2<>.
•f 1203 or 12»)8. First Prioress of the
Cistercian monastery of Nazareth, near
Lira, in Brabant. She was horn at
Tillemont, on the Geta, in Brabant.
Her parents, Bartholomew and Gertrude,
were rich and devout. At the age of
seven she joined the Beguines for a
year. Her father afterwards placed her
in the monastery of Vallis Florida. Shu
kept her spirit pure by torturing her
body : she tied ropes tightly round her,
wore a girdle of thorns, and otherwise
shone in self-torture. She was sorely
tried by the fear of death, which she
strove in vain to overcome. Christ
pierced her heart with a fiery dart, and
told her that He loved her especially

B. BEATRICE DE SILV \

KM)

among all hnman creatures. Long after
lu T death, in a time of disturbance, the
nuns fled from Nazareth to Lira.
11 -atriet:'s lnulv was left walled up at
N:i /a re th, but was carried by angels to
Lira, in 1 ''I*;, for safety, — as was proved
by the fact that several persons heard
music and saw a light in the middle of
tin night. Gertrude do Greve was
abbess at the time. AA.SS. Boll.,
lulv _"•', Prteter. Bucelinus, Jl/r/i. //»•//.,
Feb. 2S. Henriquez, Lilia, July 29.
Hii'_f<> M'Mrird, Mart. Ben., gives her day
as July 27, and places her death in l'J''>^.
Her /.//' is said to be in Mirasus's Chron.
/•••//.

B. Beatrice (s), HAVYDIS.

B. Beatrice (9) d'Ornacieux,
Feb. 1.5. "\ i;Ji>5. Carthusian nun at
I'armenie, in the diocese of Grenoble.
It -presented hammering a nail into her
left hand, in order t ) share the sufferings
>t Christ. Her immemorial worship
was confirmed by Pius IX. in 1809.
Aaudecta Juris Pontificii, series xi. 204.
(Sillier, CaracMrisliques.

B. Beatrice (!<>)» Nov- <>• Nun in
tin.: Cistercian monastery of the Blessed
Viririn Mary of Olivet, near Mari-
nnmtiura, in 'Hainault. She was ex
tremely beautiful. Her beauty was a
snare- to herself and to an unworthy
\>ri- -*t who ministered at the house.
Sin- w.is keeper of the oratory, and had
a considerable devotion to the B. V.
Mary. When she determined to elope
with the priest, she laid the keys on
tin: altar, saying, "I have served you
faithfully. Here I give up my charge
and give you back your keys. I am
going where my inclinations call me."
.She went oil' with the priest, who soon
deserted her. She had nothing to live
on, and was ashamed to return to her
eonvent, so she led a sinful life for
fifteen years. At last, hankering after
tin b.-tter life she had loft, she wont to
•() of her old home and asked the
portcivss if sho remembered Sister
•, th« keeper of the oratory.
was the reply, "I knew her and
know ln-r very well ; she is a holy
woman IH-IYJ t> this day." Beatrice did
not undiTstand, and was going away,
but th: IJ. V. Mary, to whom she had

commended herself and given up tho
keys, said to her, "I have done your
work and saved your character all these
years. Now come back and do pen
ance." Sho did so, and lived several
years in holy penitence and died in
tho odour of sanctity. Henriquez, Li I in
Cistercii. Bucelinus, Men. Ben., Nov.
o. The Bollandists promise her Life
when their calendar comes down to her
day.

B. Beatrice ( 1 1 ) Casata, March 20.
"(• 141" i. The Casati were an old family
of Milan. Beatrice married Franchino,
Count of Rusca, or Rasconia. In her
widowhood she was distinguished for
piety and unworldliness. She died.
March 20, 1490. Her bones were
honourably translated from an old to a
new convent at Milan, in 1351. Hen-
schouius could not ascertain whether this
was on the ground of her sanctity or
only of her rank. Sho was said to have
wrought several miracles both before
and after her death. Sho is com
memorated in the Franciscan Martyroloyy.
AA.SS. Boll., July 17, Prseter. Gcbet-
Bucli, O.S.F., Dec. 19. Mentioned in
the Life of B. Pnulnntia, May 0, AA.SS.
Boll.

B. Beatrice (12) de Silva, Sept. 1,
Oct. S. •{• 1490. In Portuguese she is
called BHITKS. Founder of tho Franciscan
Order of tho Conception of our Lady*
Daughter of Gomez do Silva, governor of
Carnpo Mayor and Onguela, and of Isabel
Menez. Sister of James, first Count of
Portalegre, and of B. Amadeo, founder of
the Amadeists. She was related to tho
royal family of Portugal. When Isabel,
daughter of Edward, King of Portugal
(14:j:;-l-l:5S), married John II., King of
Castile (1400-1454), Beatrice accom
panied her to that kingdom. This was
about 1442. Her beauty procured her
a great deal of attention at tho Spanish
court. Numerous duels wore fought on
account of her. She had many offers
of marriage, and the king admired her
too much. Tho queen, being jealous,
imprisoned her in her own room, and
left her three days without food. While
praying for life and iunoceucy, sho
received a promise of protection from,
the 1). V. MAKV, whom she saw in ft

110

B. BEATRICE

blue cloak and white gown, as she is
represented in the pictures of the
Immaculate Conception. As soon as
she was released, she fled to Toledo.
On the way thither she was surprised to
hear herself addressed in her native
language by two Franciscan monks. At
first she supposed the queen had sent
them to bring her back, but she found
that one of them was St. Anthony of
Padua. When they had promised that
she should be the spiritual mother of
many holy women, they disappeared.
She shilt herself up in a Dominican con
vent at Toledo for forty years, seeing no
one but Queen Isabel the Catholic, wife
of Ferdinand of Aragon, and daughter
of the king and queen from whom
Beatrice had fled in her youth. She
designed a new order in honour of the
'Conception. The queen used her in
fluence to have it approved by the Pope,
and gave her, in 1484, the palace of
Galliana for a convent. It took its
name from the chapel of St. Faith, that
belonged to the palace. Although the
rule was Franciscan, the first sisters
were twelve of her fellow-nuns in the
Dominican house where she had lived
so long. The institute was approved by
Innocent VIII. in 1 489. Cardinal Xime-
nes, O.S.F., had this order united to the
Clares, whose rule they adopted with
certain mitigations. In 1511 Pope
Julius II. gave the Conceptionists a par
ticular rule, leaving them still incor
porated with the Clares. Beatrice died
Sept. 1, 149o, ten days before the time
appointed for the solemn inauguration
of her order. She is much honoured in
Spain, and her Life has been written by
Bivar and others. One of the peculiar
austerities of this branch of the Order of
St. Francis was that after their profession,
the nuns were never again allowed to
speak to any secular person, even their
nearest relations. There was a house
of the order at Rome in 1525, and one
at Milan in 1,5!>9. Bucelinus, Men. Ben.,
Oct. 8, claims her as a Benedictine.
Henriquez places her among the Cister
cians, but she was for more than half
<her life a Dominican nun, and her own
order was Franciscan.

Heylot, Ilistoi redes Ordres Monastiyues,

vii. 40. Analecta Juris Pontificii, iii.
.549. Butler, " St. Francis," note.

B. Beatrice (13), Nov. 26. t i:'(>:'-
One of the first nuns of the Dominican
convent of ST. CATHKKIM: <>r SIKNA, at
Ferrara. When the cemetery was being
made, she got into a grave and lay down
straight and still as if she were dead.
The other nuns asked her why she did so.
She said because she was destined to be
the first person buried in the new ceme-
try, which proved to be true. Pio says
she took the habit at an early age, led an
angelic life, and was very young when
she died. Eazzi, Predicatpri. Pio,
Hist. Doin. Manoel de Lima, A<ji»L
Dom.

B. Beatrice (14') of St. Francis,
Nov. 15, Sept. 2. 16th century. During
the life of her husband she belonged to
the Third Order of Minorites. She re
fused a good offer of a second marriage.
She built the Franciscan convent of Villa
Longa, near Lisbon, giving it the name
of Our Lady of the Powers. She was
consecrated a nun by Mark of Lisbon,
Bishop of Porto. She was still living in
1566. The Bollandists promise her Life,'
Nov. 15. She is mentioned in the Fran
ciscan Prayer-book, Sept. 2.

Beatrice (M5 ) of the Incarnation,
May 5. •)• 157.'> or 1574. Carmelite
nun under ST. THEHESA. Her name was
BEATKIZ OXES, spelt and called in French
OGNEZ. She was of noble birth, a native
of Arroyo, near Santa Gadea, and made
her profession in the monastery of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel at Valladolid,
on Sept. 17, 157n. The prioress and all
the nuns declared that during the three
years she lived with them they never
saw in her anything with which fault
could be found. Great outward and
inward tranquillity arose from her being
constantly in prayer and thanksgiving.
Once when two men were condemned to
be burnt for atrocious crimes, she was
filled with compassion for their souls,
and prayed that she might suffer their
bodily penalty, and that their souls
might bo saved. The same night she
was seized with agonizing pain, that
continued as long as she lived. " The
criminals made a good death, which
seems to prove," says Theresa, " that

ST. BEGGA

111

God had heard her prayer." Beatrice
showed great sweetness, patience, and
rfect obedience during her illness.
• It is very common," says St. Theresa,
for souls given to prayer to wish for
sufferings when they have none, but it is
not common for those who have them to
bear them and be glad." About a
quarter of an hour before Beatrice died
her face shone and was so full of joy
that all present thought they were in
beaven. A very sweet scent nrose from
her body as it was laid in the tomb.
The candles that were used during the
funeral rites and burial suffered not the
least diminution of wax. Theresa,
Foundations, xii.

B. Beatrice < 16) of Cantona. iGth
century. Abbess of the nuns of the
Order of Christian Doctrine, founded
-. by St. Charles Borromeo. Gueiie-
bault, Diet, d'lam.

St. Beatte, BEXEDICTA (4) of Sons.
St. Bebea, BAKBEA.
St. Bee of Kgremont, BEGA (I).
SS. Beenan and Sara, Dec. in,
MM. in Persia. Their history is pro-
raised in the coming volumes of the
AA.SS.

St. Bega ( i i, Oct. ;;i, Sept. 0 (BEE,
BI:I>. Ui.i:/. BEZ, BEGAGH, BEGGA, BEGHA,
L, BHEGA, VAYA, VKK, YI:<;A, VEYA),
V. 7th century. Patron of the north
west of England, where she first landed ;
and of Norway. Probable patron of
places called Kilbucho, Kilbees, Kilbegie,
Kilbagie, etc., and founder of a nunnery
near ( 'arlislo, where the priory of Cope-
land was afterwards built.

legend is that St. Bega, commonly
all-d ST. Ui:i: or ECJKEMONT, was the
liter of an Irish king, and was the
; beautiful woman in her country.
!«• married to the King of
.ay, but sin- had from her infancy
•1 herself to a religious, ascetic life,
and in tok.-n «,f her betrothal to Christ
had reerivrl from an angel a brand* -t
marked with the sign of the cross. The
i.i'_rht I'lTnn; her wedding-day, while the
:ds and attendants were revelling or
lied, taking the bracelet
i her. Finding i\<> ship, she cut a
4»rf, and on it cn.ssed tlie sea to the
'.site coast. She lauded on a pronion-

tory in Cumberland, then part of the
kingdom of Northumbria. Here she
lived in prayer and charity for a long
time, and finally moved further inland
for fear of pirates. In the Middle Ages
she was especially appealed to against
oppressors of the poor and against
Scottish ricvt'i-8. In the 12th century
her bracelet was kept as a holy relic,
on which persons were called upon to
swear, as it was believed that a false
oath made on that relic would be imme
diately exposed and incur a dreadful
vengeance. It is not impossible that,
having moved inland for fear of ma
rauders, she went further and further,
and finally settled on the eastern coast
of Northumbria, where Christianity was
established and protected. On this sup
position she is identified by some
authorities, among them the Aberdeen
Breviary, with ST. BEGU and ST. HEIU.
She way be Begu, but I cannot see that
she can be Heiu also.

AA.SS. Boll. Brit. Sancta. Forbes,
Scot. Cal. Montalembert, Monks. Laui-
gan, Ecch'8. Hist. Butler, Licm. Chute-
lain, Voc. 1I<"/.

St. Bega'c-M, BEGU.

St. Bega ( :J ), VEY.

St. Begea, or Begeus, Dec. 2:i.
Abbess in Kgypt. Giry, Diet. Hay.

St. Begga ( 1 ), Dec. 17. 7th century.
Patron of Auden.

Represented ( 1 ) with a bear or boar,
to show that she built her church in a
place previously the resort of wild beasts,
or in memory of a tradition that her
grandson, Charles Martel, killed a bear
at Andeu ; (2) with a hen and seven
chickens, or a flock of ducks in a little
pool. (The site of her churches is said
to have been indicated to her by seven
little animals grouped round their
mother. ) She holds in her hand a com
plicated building to represent the seven
churches that she built.

I'M •urga was daughter of Pepin of Laii-
don, mayor of the palace under Clothairo
II. (<>!:>) and Dagobort I. < Kings

of France, and Sigebert II. (ii:is), King
of . \nslrasia. Her mother was B. IDA.
Jl« T sister was the famous ST. CJEltTUUDE
<>r \i\ i: 1.1.1 :. Begga married Ansigisilus,
or Anchisus, souoi SS. Ar:iulf aiid D"i>A.

112

ST. BEGGA

Arnulf, or Arnoul, was of noble' Frankish
birth. Ansigisilus and Begga had a son,
Pepin of Herstal, the second of the three
great Pepins, and the father of Charles
Martel. Ansigisilus met his death while
hunting. Begga then made a pilgrimage
to Rome, and on her return built seven
chapels at Anden on the Mouse between
Huy and Namur, in imitation of the
seven principal churches in Rome. She
also built a nuDiiery at Anden like that
of her sister at Nivelle. Gertrude had
long been dead. St. Wulfetrude, the
second abbess, was dead too. AGNES,
the third abbess, took care to give Begga
the benefit of all that she had learned
under the holy Gertrude, and sent nuns to
train the new community. They took with
them a piece of St. Gertrude's bed, and
placed it near the altar of ST. GENOVEFA,
in Begga's church, where it worked
miraculous cures, and was adorned with
votive oiferings of gold and precious
stones. The monastery of Anden was
afterwards converted into a collegiate
church of thirty-two canonesses of noble
families, with ten canons to officiate at
the altar. Begga is said by some autho
rities to have founded the Beguines, who
devoted themselves to religion under
simple vows not taken for life. The
general opinion is that they were founded
in the 12th century, by Lambert le
Begue, a priest of Liege. R.M. Cahier.
Butler, Lives. Bouquet, Rccueil, iii. 304,
"Chronique de St. Denis." Pertz,
Hausinder, p. 52. Mabillon, Contem
porary Life of St. Gertrude.

St. Begga (2), BEGA.

St. Begghe, BEGA.

St. Begha, BEGA.

St. Begll, having dedicated her vir
ginity to the Lord for thirty years and
more, served Him in monastic conversa
tion in the nunnery of Hackness, built
by ST. HILDA shortly before her death.
On Nov. 17, OH<), Begu was sleeping in
the dormitory with the other sisters.
She suddenly heard the bell that called
them to prayer when a soul was passing
away. Immediately she saw the roof
of the house open : a bright light filled
the sky, and in that light the maid of
Gocl, Hilda, was borne to heaven by
angels. Begu arose, found the sisters all

asleep, and knew that she had seen a
vision. Running to Frigyd, who ruled
in the absence of the Abbess Hilda, she
told her that their dear mother had that
moment departed from the earth. They
all arose and prayed for the soul of the
blessed abbess until, at dawn, some monks
arrived to tell them of her death. (Bede,
Eccl. Hist., book iv. chap. 2:>.) Some
modern writers identify her with HEIU,
who is mentioned by Bcde in the same
narrative. They seem to me to be two
distinct persons. Some think she is ST.
BEE OF EGREMONT (BEGA (1)), but this is
mere conjecture and rests on no authority.
Smith and Wace, Diet. " Heiu " and
" Begu."

St. Bela, Oct. 2S, M. with her fathc
and mother, SS. Terence and NEONILLA
her sister ST. EUNICE, and four brother
They were delivered by angels from
bonds and torments of various kinds
They were thrown into boiling pitch
which turned into water and did no
hurt them. Then they were all beheaded
Their worship is extensive, particularly
in the Eastern Church. Their date anc
history are unknown. AA.SS.

Beli, German- Swiss for BARBARA.

St. Belina, Sept. S. Date unknown
V. M. of chastity, it is supposed, at Lan
gres, in Champagne. Her head is pre
served in the convent of Mores or Maures
near Troyes, and is said to have been cu
off by her persecutor, the Lord of Lan
dreville, a place near Maures. AA.SS
Martin, French Mart.

Baring-Gould says she died at Lan
dreville, in 1 1 ~>3, was canonized in 1 203
and her relics were dispersed at th
Revolution. He also relates that hei
murder caused an vfm-ute of the vassals
who burned the castle and would have
killed the seigneur of Pradines am
dArcy. He escaped, but was excom
municated and exiled.

St. Bellande, BERLENDIS.

St. Belleride, BERLENDIS.

St. Bemba, V. M. at Rome. Hei
festival is held March 2S, in the monas
tery of Einsiedeln, in Switzerland.

St. Beneacta, June 2(,», Chastelain,
Voc. Il'ii.

St. Benecutia, or DKXECUTIA, Maj
14, M. in Africa. AA.SS.

ST. BEXEDICTA

113

Benedetta. i A.

St. Benedicta (1), July s. 1st cen
tury. Wife of Count Sigebcrt of Bor-
.b-aY.x, who was paralyzed for years.
When ho heard of the miracles of St.
Martial, he sent Benedicta, with offerings
of Ljold and silver, to ask that saint to
restore her husband to health. Seeing
her faith, he promised what she asked,
her his staff, and bade her lay it on
her husband ; he would not receive the
gold and silver, but baptized her and all
her companions. Meantime the people
of Bordeaux were worshipping their
idols, and while the priest was burning
incense, the devil declared he would de
part from there at the command of a
Hebrew named Martial. As Benedicta
•iteml the town, the old men of the
place met her and told her all that was
going on. She sent for the high priest
and told him to destroy every temple in
the place, except that to the unknown
<iod. Then, assisted by the prayers of
her Christian brethren and companions,
she went to her husband's bed, and laid
the holy bishop's staff upon him. Sige-
bert was instantaneously cured. His first
act was to go to St. Martial, and ask for
ism. The town of Bordeaux was
on the point of l>eiug destroyed by
lire ; but the pious Beuedicta took the
staff of St. Martial to meet the flames,
and they immediately disappeared.

When St. Martial was preaching at

Mortagne, Sigebcrt and his soldiers went

ike provisions to him and his people.

ent a number of men to procure a

quantity of fish. While they were at sea,

a great storm came on. Benedicta saw

that they were about to perish. She

I her hands towards heaven and

prayed, and they all came safe to land,

with their boats, their nets, and their

tisli. This story is told by Urdericus

Vitalis, in his ///*/»>/•// of the Normam, i.

S m lye and 1 « rrarius merely say

Benedicta was baptix'-d by St. Martial.

St. Benedicta < 2 i, July n, V. M.

in tin- time of Nero. Slit-
was carried naked through the city, but

• ne e<>nld s- e ht-r. At't« r various
tortures, she was put to death. ^L-1.>N .
/'., from Tamayo Salaxar.

St. Benedicta (8), Nov. 12, V. M.

at Rome. She endured many tortures
and insults, was miraculously encouraged
and healed by an angel, and finally be
headed. Viola Sanctorum.

St. Benedicta (4), April 17, M. 236.
Mother of SS. Alphius, Philadelphia,
and Cyrinus. AA.S8., May In.

St. Benedicta < •">), June 2<>, Sept. G,
7 ( BKATA, locally BKATTE, BEXOITE DE
SENS), V. M. c. 273. She went from
Spain, with her brother St. Sauctian and
St. Augustine, to Sens, in France, whore
the Emperor Aurelian tried, by threats
and promises, to make them renounce the
Christian faith, offering them the highest
honours in his court as the reward of
apostasy, and the death of criminals in
case they remained firm. They, on the
other hand, told him how much greater
were the honours and pleasures their
Master prepared for them in the other
world, and warned the Emperor where
he would go, and whom he would associ
ate with eventually, unless ho were con
verted. Finally they were beheaded.
/,'..!/., June 21 ». AA.SS., June 2(3 and
Sept. 0. Martin, French Mart., Sept. 7.

St. Benedicta (6), Jan. 4, V. M.
at Kome, .'{»J2, with SS. Priscus and Pre-
scillian, in the persecution under Julian
the Apostate. jRJJ. AA.SS.

St. Benedicta (7), Oct. 8, more
commonly called SAIMI: BI-XOITE, V.
M. :>«i2, under Julian the Apostate.
Patron of Origuy ( Auriiiiacum). The
li'iiinni Mdttiiroloijij mentions four holy
virgins of this name, on Jan. 4, May 0,
Juno 2! i, Oct. S. The one best known
in France was the daughter of a llomaii
senator. Despising the pleasures of the
world, she took twelve young girls to
lead a religious life in her house. Hoar-
ing of the martyrdom of St. Queiitiii and
his companions in Picardy, she set off
with her twelve friends to seek martyr
dom in Gaul. They stayed some time
ut the capital of Vermandois, now called
St. (^ueutiu; then they dispersed, to ex
tend the knowledge of Christianity in
different directions. Benedicts and her
fofternrister, LBOBEBIA, went to Origny-
sur-Oise, in the diocese of Laon, and
made many converts. Their cell is be
lieved to have been at Mont d'< )rigny,
a village near the town of < )rigny.

I

114

ST. BEXEDICTA

Matroclns, the prefect, a Jew, After trying
in vain to turn Beneclicta from her
religion, had her beaten until she was a
mass of wounds; she was then thrown
into a dark dungeon : her wounds were
healed by an angol. This miraculous
cure caused the conversion of fifty-five
persons. Matroclus, exasperated, cut off
her head with his own hand. Local
tradition fixes the site of her martyrdom
at a place called Les Arlrcs <lu TliiJ, an
enclosure of about twenty-two acres,
surrounded by trees and hedges, where
many devotees resort every Sunday.

Of the twelve companions of St. Bene-
dicta, Father Giry only mentions SS.
LEOBERIA, YOLAINE or YOLAND, CAMIONA,
and KOMANA. St. Yolaine is honoured
at Pleines Selves, about three miles from
Origny; and St. Camiona, near Le-
Mesnil-Saint-Laurent, about five miles
from Origny, in the territory of Lugdu-
num Clavatum, which is Laon, not
Lyons; the double meaning of Lugdu-
num has given rise to a fictitious ST.
BENEDICTA OF LYONS (Chastelain, Foe.
Hay.). A monastery was built over her
tomb in the Oth or 7th century. After
wards a nunnery of the Order of St.
Benedict, dedicated in the names of SS.
Mary and Benedicta, was built at Origny
(Diet, dcs Abbaycs).

Constantino Suysken, in AA.SS., Oct.
8, gives her fabulous Ads and a discussion
as to the place and date of her life and
death. Baillet considers her story to be
a copy of that of St. Romana, and that
a copy of the history of ST. SATURNINA.
There are numerous instances in which
the history of one saint has been adapted
to another. The history of St. Romana
can only be traced to within eight hun
dred years of the date ascribed to that
martyr.

St. Benedicta (8) of Lyons. (See
BKNKDICTA or OIIIONY.)

St. Benedicta 0'), June 27, M. A
venerable Christian, who was martyred
with SS. Crispus and Crispinian in :>»52.
Benedicta is sometimes called Virgin,
sometimes Matron. Boll., AA.SS., June
27.

St. Benedicta ( 1 < > ). Mentioned in a
Litanyused in England in the 7th century.
This is probably one of the early martyrs

already mentioned. English Mart. Ma-
billon, Vetcm An«l«i<t, pp. r>(j<), ct srq.

St. Benedicta (11), May o. Friend
and fellow-nun of ST. GALLA (\ < » ), at
Rome, in the Oth century. Her head is
said to be still preserved at Rome. 11. ^T.
Henschenius. AA.SS.

St. Benedicta (12), Aug. 17. 7th
century. A Spanish abbess, disciple of
St. Fructuosus. He was a martyr in the
Mrd century. Espaha Sagmdaj xxv.
168. Bucelinus. Guenebault.

St. Benedicta (i:-M, Aug. 17. mth
century. Abbess of Susteren. Daughter
of St. Zuentibold, king of Lotharingia,
who died in 000, and was the son of the
Emperor Arnulf (887-81W ). She became
a nun at Susteren with her sisters, SS.
CECILIA and BELINDA, under the direction
of a holy virgin named Amelberga, after
whose death Benedicta became abbess,
and was, in her turn, succeeded by Cecilia.
The three sisters are commemorated to
gether, Nov. 10. AA.SS. Bucelinus,
Men. l$en. Lechner, J3en. Ordcus.

B. Benedicta (U), June 28. A lay-
sister in the nunnery of Petra, near
Subiaco. Her real name has not come
down to us, so she is called after the
founder of her order. One day the
abbess sent her some distance, with an
ass, to fetch flour from a mill. She said
her prayers while the corn was being
ground, and went on with more prayers,
although the miller warned her that it
was going to rain, and that she would
not get home at the time required by
the rule. When her prayers were ended,
it was quite dark and pouring wet, but
she arrived safely at the monastery, with
the new supply of flour, the donkey, and
her own clothes perfectly dry. The
abbess said to her, " You must be tired
after your long walk. Go to bed."
Benedicta said, "Let me first say my
usual prayers in the chapel." AVhile
she was there, the other nuns made
supper ready for her, and as she did not
come for some time, they went to fetch
her. They found her kneeling with her
hands clasped, and her head up — quite
dead. They buried her in that attitude.
Long afterwards, in 140:*, her body was
found in perfect preservation, and after
the nunnery was destroyed, her story was

B. BKNVKNfTA BO JAM

115

remembered, and a chapel was built in
her honour. Bucelinus. M> //. 1>> n.

St. Benedicta i L5), nth century.
Daughter of St. Anfroy, count of Huy
and Louvjiin, afterwards Bishop of
I'trecht. She succeeded her mother,
ST. Hr.i:s \vi\n, as Abbess of Torenno or
Thora. They aro numbered among tlio
saints of Liege. Stadler, from Bartho
lomew Lesen, Florcs Ecclexise L< "<H< //s/.s-.

B. Benedicta (!»'•), March 16, Oct.
19, V. fl2t>M. Succeeded ST. CI.AKA
as Abbess of St. Damian's, at Assisi, in
Umbria, 12."»:>. Held in great veneration
at Assisi, but has not been inserted in
the martyrologies. AA.SS.

B. Benedicta (17). f 1:'H'- Suc-
led II. CATHKKIXK MOKIGIA, in 147s,
as second Abbess of Monte Varasio.
Benedicta enriched the community and
enlarged the convent. By the desire of
the sisters and permission of the Pope,
she continued abbess until her death,
notwithstanding the rule that each
superior should hold office for three
years only. She was succeeded by the
" Illumined Sister," Lucretia Alciati,
who brought a large fortune to the
sisterhood. Helyot, Hist. Ord. MOH., iv.
ch. 9.

St. Benigna, Jnne 2o, V. M. 124 J.
Cistercian nun at Wratislaw, in Poland.
Taken captive and slain for her adhe
rence to her innocence and Christian
faith, by the Tartars who overran Poland
in the time of Henry the Pious, son of
Ih.i'wu;. Bucelinus, Men. lien.
-1 -I .SS.t Prseter. Henriquez, Liliit Cist.,
June I'.'.

St. Benilda, June i:>. f s:>:j. A
old woman. One of the martyrs
"i Cordova. Beheaded the day after
ST. DION A. It.M. Henschenius, in Boll.,
AA.SS. St. Mule-gins, Nnn. Stmct.
Baillet, Vies.

St. Benonia, or Boxosrs, April 29.
Tt is uncertain whether this is the name
of man. woman, or place. AA.SS.

St. Benu, Jan. i;», is honoured by
tin- ( 'upts as a martyr.

B. Benvenuta < i ) Bojani, < ><-t. 2'.'
"i- 30. I2.YI-I2'.»2. O.S.I). When
she was born at Cividale of Austria, in
Friuli, no one dared to tell her father
that lie had a seventh daughter, as lie

was very anxious for a son. When at
last he heard it, ho said. " Sho is
welcome; lot her be named Benvenuta"
• \Velcomej. Sho and her sister Mary
made a vow of celibacy at a very early
age. Benvenuta had a special devotion
to St. Dominic, saw diabolical and
celestial apparitions, and practised
wonderful austerities from her child
hood. She suffered so much from
numbness, tremor, and breathlessneis
that she could not lie down, and had for
some years to take all her rest sitting in
a chair. She was carried to church once
a week. At last she was cured by
St. Dominic, and, accompanied by her
brother and sister, made a pilgrimage to
his shrine at Bologna, in fulfilment of a
vow. They passed through Venice and
Padua, and returned home to Cividale,
where she lived in perfect health for
some years. The Dominican nuns there
were much edified by her piety, and
invited her to stay with them in their
convent of Cella whenever she chose.
By her prayers she cured one of the
sisters of a mysterious and painful dis
order to which she was subject every
winter. She cured another of blindness.
Sho delivered the souls of several of her
friends and relations from purgatory ;
had the gift of prophecy ; took the form
of absent persons, and performed their
duties ; had frequent raptures and
ecstasies. She died in her own house,
12'.'2. Many people of rank, as well as
many of the lower class, came from the
surrounding towns to make a visit of
devotion to her body, touching it with
rings, beads, etc., that they might
thereby receive the virtue of holy charms.
The abbess and nuns of the great Bene
dictine convent were among those who
visited her before her burial. Sin- was
carried to the Dominican church by the
friars, and a short sermon was preached
by her confessor, Conrad, prior of
Verona, in which lie related two of her
miracles — that of her cure by St. Dominic
already mentioned, and that of the rope.
While yet very young she girt herself so-
tightly with a rope that as she grow it
became cmbedd- <1 in her flesh, and caused
her great suffering. It could only bo
removed by a surgical operation. As

lift

B. BEXVEXrTA

this idea was painful to her delicacy,
she had recourse to prayer. Falling
into a rapture, she found, on her return
to a sense of earthly things, that the rope
was lying beside her on the floor. The
people begged to hear more about her.
Conrad preached another sermon the
following Sunday, in which he related
several miraculous circumstances con
cerning the departed saint. He said
that for five years the angel Gabriel fed
her daily with food from heaven.
During that time she never ate any
earthly food without its producing in
stant sickness, the sacramental bread
excepted. She was buried in the tomb
of her family outside the church. Some
time afterwards her body was diligently
sought, in order to lay it with greater
honour in the church. It could not be
found, and was supposed to have been
carried off by Dominican friars to
Bologna or Kavenna. Her Life in
Modern Saints, edited by the Fathers of
the Oratory. Mart. O.F.P., Oct. 2(,».
A.B.M. Pio.

B. Benvenuta (2). i:3th century.
O.S.F. One of the first nuns under
ST. CLARA. (See AGNES OF ASSISI.)

St. Bera, BE ATA (1).

St. Berathgit, BEUGIT, or BEKTHGITH.
8th century. Daughter of ST. BILHILD (2),
or GUXTIIILD. They were taken by St.
Boniface from Wimborne to Thuringia,
and set over his convent schools there.
Tlturinijia Sacra (Frankfort, 1787). Two
letters from Berthgith to her brother
Balthard are among the letters of St.
Boniface and St. Lullus. Smith and
Wace, Diet, of Christian Bioyrnpliy, re
ferring to Jaffe's Monumrnta Moyuntice.

St. Beredina. (#'•<• VICTORIA (2).)

St. Berelendis, BKKLKXDIS.

St. Berema, BKATA (l).

B. Berengaria, March s. f c. 1 250.
Daughter of Ferdinand III., king of
Leon and Castile. Sister of Alfonso,
king of the llomans. In 1 240 she took
the Cistercian habit at Holga, near
Burgos. Mentioned by Henriquez and
Bucelinus. AA.SS., Prset< r.

St. Berenice ( l ), VKKOMCA < l >.
: St. Berenice (2), or BKKINNA.
Daughter of DOMXIXA (8).

St. Bergit, UKKATIKMT, not Birgit.

St. Berinna, or BKKKXICK, M. at
Antioch with her mother and sister,
DOMMNA (:>) and Puosixx'i:.

St. Beriona, BIMMAXA.

St. Berlendis, Fob. :i (BELLANDE,
BKLI.KKIDK, BKUUXDA). 7th century.
Commemorated with NONA and CELSK at
Meerbeck, in Brabant. Represented
with a cow beside her. Patron of
peasants. Invoke! against contagious
diseases of animals. She also protects
trees, particularly those transplanted on
her day. Berlendis is specially honoured
at Tin-le-Moutiers, in Ketelois. Accord
ing to Bucelinus, her mother was Nona,
sister of St. Amandus. Her father was a
wealthy noble, who served under Dago-
bert I., king of France. His name was
Odelardus. He suffered from leprosy,
produced by his pious austerities. Ber
lendis offended him beyond forgiveness,
because she rinsed his cup before drink
ing out of it herself. For this act he
disinherited her, and left everything to
ST. GEKTKUDE. His daughter realized
that she had erred : she became a nun
at Morsella, and manifested her repent
ance by giving up all luxuries and rest
ing content with poor food and plain
raiment. One day she heard angels
singing as they carried her father's soul
to heaven. Knowing by this sign that
he was dead, she went to .Meerbeck and
buried him. On her death she was
buried in a wooden tomb, on account of
the scarcity of stone. The wood, how
ever, was, by supernatural agency, turned
into stone. Her body was afterwards
removed from its original resting-place,
upon which occasion many miracles were
performed. Those who assisted at the
translation had their food wonderfully
increased. At Meerbeck there is a
representation of St. Berlendis with her
cow, rudely cut in wood. The peasants
come and reverently touch the udder, for
the good of their own cows and dairies.
At one time the proceedings at her fes
tival were so riotous that it came to be
called the Drunken Vespers, and in the
1 6th century the clergy were forbidden
to take part in it. St. Celse was, per
haps, her disciple or her sister. Boll.,
AA.SS. Bio'j. Univ., " Odelard." Ecken-
stein. Cahier. Chastelain, Voc. Hay.

ST. UKKTIIA

117

She is mentioned by Saussaye, Molanus,
Labierius, and Ferrarius.
St. Berlinda, BERLMNDI&
St. Beroma, BKMA i i i.
St. Beronica, YI:K»M« A (_i).
St. Bertana, EHEMBEUTA, HKUKM-
ri i; in v, or IREMBEKTANA, Oct. 1 ">. End
of 7tb or beginning of 8th century.
Abbess. Niece of St. Vuliner, Abbot of
Silviac, near Boulogne. Silviac was
afterwards called Samer- (i.e. St. VulmerJ
in-the-Wood, to distinguish it from
another monastery of St. Vuliner built
by P>. IDA, widow, within the walls of
Boulogne. Bertana was a nun in
authority, under Vuliner, at Wiere, near
Sunier. When she and her fellow-nuns
could get no food, he refreshed them
with a mellifluous sermon. AA.SS.

St. Bertha (l). fG1-- Queen of
Kent, first Christian queen in England.
She was tin daughter of Charibert, one
of the lour brothers who became kings
of France in ,">G1. Her mother was the
pious Ingoberga. She married Ethel-
bert, king of Kent, who promised her
free exercise of her own religion. She
took as her chaplain to England, Liud-
hard, a bishop. Ethelbert gave him a
little church at ( 'anterbury, built during
the Roman occupation of Britain, and
still standing. Liudhard restored it,
and dedicated it in the name of St.
Martin. It is the oldest church in

land, and has been used continuously
since that time. The additions of dif-

;t periods are distinctly visible.

ha's character and conduct predis
posed the king in favour of Christianity,
ami when, in .".'.Mi, St. Gregory, the Pope,
sent a band of missionary monks to
Mn.L'land, under Augustine, they were
received with respect. The king and
many others listened to their teaching.
On Whitsunday. .V.'T, Kthelbert declared
himself a Christian, and was baptized;
and his example was quickly followed by
many of his people. He gave his own
house at Canterbury to Augustine, who
there founded a church, now the cathe
dral. Kthelbert and Bertha, standing
between Augustine and Li ud hard, appear
in the windows of tin- nave of ( 'anterbury
Cathedral, among the early English
saints. St. Bertha figures in the windows

of the Roman Catholic Church of Rams-
. She is spoken of at Canterbury
as *• St. Bertha," but it is not clear that
she has ever been worshipped, and she
has no dedications. Dean Stanley.
Moiitalembert. SS. ETHELBUUGA (1) and
EDBUUGA ( 1 ) were her daughters.

St. Bertha < '2 ), May i, Aug. :ii, Oct.
12, V. M. \Vife of St. Gombert, lord
of Champenois, who was of the royal
family of France. He built her a nun
nery at Avenay, near Rlieims. He then
retired to a monastery which he had
built on the seashore. Hero he was
killed by idolaters, towards the end of
the 7th century. After his death, St.
Bertha, in obedience to a vision, re
moved with her nuns to Val d'Or, near
Avenay. The nuns and the people of
Avenay being in great want of water,
St. Peter appeared to Bertha, and guided
her to a garden where there was a good
spring. She bought it for a pound of
silver (according to Martin, about sixty
francsj, and traced with her distaff a
little furrow from the spring to her
convent ; the water ran along the line,
deepening its channel as it flowed. She
called the stream Libra, because it was
bought for a pound ; and there it flows
to this day, an abundant supply of beauti
ful, clear water, curing many infirmities,
and witnessing the truth of the legend
of the distaff. The Privigni, Gombert's
i»latious, were very angry because
Bertha gave to the poor a great deal
that they hoped to get for themselves.
S.i they murdered her, and wore imme
diately seized by the devil, and tore
themselves to pieces, all but one — a
woman named Xuncia, who had some
pangs of repentance. Many years after
wards, Bertha appeared to her and said,
" If thou wouldst bo forgiven, bring the
body of my blessed husband and lay it
beside mine." Nuucia said, " But how
shall I know that I am forgiven for so
great a crime ? " Bertha answered,
" As soon as you have fulfilled my com
mand, blood will gush from your noso
and mouth. By that sign you will
know that you are forgiven." Without
delay, Xuneia set about her pious task,
and had (it Hubert's l>ody brought to the
convent church of Val d'Or. She then

118

ST. BERTHA

addressed the body of Bertha* asking if
she was forgiven. Immediately the
blood spouted out of her nose and mouth.
A hundred years afterwards Bertha's
body was found fresh and life-like, and
when the two bodies were taken to the
place where she had been killed, her
wounds bled afresh. Papebroch, in
AAJSS.j May 1, from her Acts in the
ancient office of the church of Avenay.
Martin's edition of Surius d'Apres
Lipoman.

St. Bertha (:-'>), July 4. -f- c. 725 or
7: {.">. Abbess and founder of Blangy, in
Artois.

Represented with her two daughters
dressed as nuns. They are drawn on a
very small scale, to indicate their minor
importance.

Daughter of Rigobert, count of the
Palace, under Clovis IL (038-05 0), and
Ursana, his wife, who was of English
descent and related to the wife of Clovis.
Bertha married a relation of the king,
Count Sigfried, son of Prince Rigomar
and ST. GERTRUDE OP HAMAY. They
had five daughters, GERTRUDE, DEOTILA,
Emma, Gesa, and Gesta, all of whom
did credit to the training of their pious
parents. When they had been married
twenty years, Sigfried died and was
buried in his own ground at Blangy.
Then Bertha left off silk and jewels,
took the habit of a nun, and resolved to
build a church on her husband's estate.
As soon, however, as the building had
made a little progress, it fell down. She
built again, on another spot. When tho
church was finished and ready to be
consecrated, and while Bertha was on a
visit to ST. RICTRUDE, abbess of Mar-
chiennes, about thirty miles from Blangy,
the church fell with such a noise that
Bertha and Rictrudo heard it as they
sat talking. Rictrude tried to comfort
Bertha by saying that it was the will of
God she should build on another site.
At Bertha's request a fast of three days
was strictly observed at Marchiennes,
and during that time fervent prayers
were offered for the success of her
scheme, and for Divine direction as to
the situation of the church. At the end
of the third day an angel showed in a
dream, to one of the workmen, a fitting

spot at Terouanne, beside the river
Thena, where the foundations were
already lined out. There she built her
famous church and monastery. Germain
of Paris, Eligius, bishop of Noyon, and
several bishops who were afterwards
honoured as saints, assisted at the con
secration. When they were all assembled
for the consecration, there was no hyssop.
Consequently, Ravengarius, bishop of
Terouanne, refused to proceed with the
ceremony. Bertha was in great distress
that she had gathered together so many
holy and worthy men, and still it seemed
that the consecration of her church must
be deferred. However, while she was
in her oratory engaged in fervent prayer,
a man came to the door with hyssop.
Bertha thanked God, and thought that
at last all would now be well, but
another of her people came to tell her
that the bishops, finding there was to be
no ceremony, had gone away. She,
however, sent after them in all haste,
and they prophesied that great blessings
would rest on her undertaking, as she
had persevered and had at length been
assisted by a miracle. The church and
convent were consecrated, and Bertha
and her two eldest daughters received
the veil, A.D. <>S2. The three younger
daughters continued with her. Roger,
one of the king's great nobles, a proud
man, seeking mundane and transitory
gratification, earnestly entreated Bertha
to grant him the hand of Gertrude, her
eldest daughter. Bertha replied that
her daughter was already the bride of
Christ, and that she could enter into no
negotiation for her. He went to the
king, one of ST. BATHILDE'S sons, and told
him that Count Sigfried had promised
him the hand of his eldest daughter,
and the greater part of his estates as
her dowry. He then returned to Blangy
with a strong band of followers, armed
with the king's authority to marry
Gertrude. Again failing to extort the
consent of the mother, Roger swore
he would not go away without seeing
Gertrude. Bertha agreed to this. She
kept the soldiers waiting until the hour
of evening prayer, and while the nuns
began to sing the service, the doors
of the church were thrown open, and

ST. BERTHA

tig

"the rebel to God," saw ami
heard tin-in all singing the prayers
ami psalms. Before the altar, in a free
space within ten paces of him, stood the
girl all these soldiers had come to carry
ofl*. Bertha said, " Behold, the servant
and spouse of Christ is present, veiled by
the holy bishops, and solemnly devoted
at the altar where she stands ! If you
<lare to take her away from the Lord, take
h« T: wo women can offer no resistance,
but God will avenge us ! " Roger did
not dare to take Gertrude, but went
uway in a rage, and vowed vengeance oil
Bertha. Ho immediately went to the
king, and accused the Countess Bertha
of treasonable correspondence with the
English. King Thierry summoned
Bertha to answer the charge. She went
without fear, trusting in her integrity.
Roger came to meet her, under pretence
of doing her honour, but really to cast
a slight upon her by contriving that she
should ride to the palace on a miserable
horse, without the usual trappings.
Radulph, however, of pious memory, met
the venerable abbess thus unworthily
mounted, and at once exchanged horses
with her, at the same time reproaching
Roger for his disrespect. The king was
soon convinced of the innocence of Bertha,
and sent her home in peace with a guard
of honour. On her return she enlarged
and beautified her convent and built ten
churches, eight in honour of St. Martin, the
other two in honour of St. Audomar and St.
V' hist respectively. Then wishing to
retire from the government of the house
and to devote the remainder of her life
to prayer, she promoted Deotila to the
office of abbess instead of Gertrude,
i use of the trouble and scandal Roger
had caused on her ace. mnt, and had a
cell built in the church, where she
passed all her time; she had a little
window near the altar. Her two
daughters and the sixty nuns came to
her every day to bo refreshed with
spiritual advice and instruction. Her
two youngest daughters, Gesa and Gesta,
<li"l young. Kmina, her third daughter,
was given in marriage by Thierry, king
<'t' I-' ranee, to \V;ini<-linus, :i kinjj; of tho
Anglo-Saxons. St. Bertha, hearing of his
cruelty and infidelity to her daughter,

invited her to visit her at Blangy. Emma
set off with her husbaud'scoiisent. During
the voyage, she was seized with fever
and died. When Bertha heard of it, she
ordered every thing to be prepared for
a funeral befitting her daughter's rank,
and went to meet tho corpse. "Alas,
my beloved daughter," she said, " I see
your face, bnt you are not able to see
me." Hereupon Emma opened her eyes
and looked at her mother. Bertha had
her taken into the convent and buried
with all honour.

St. Bertha died at the age of sixty-
nine, about the year 725 or 735. At
the moment of her death three men, in
shining raiment, were seen standing by
to take her soul to heaven. Deotila
ruled tho convent with her mother for
twenty-nine years, and was solo abbess
for some time. Gertrude succeeded her.

In 805, during an invasion of tho
Normans, the nuns fled from Blangy to
tho monastery of Estrues at Strasburg.
They took with them, as their most
sacred treasures, the bodies of tho
sainted founder and her two daughters,
Gertrude and Deotila. They brought
them back on their return to Blaugy,
many years afterwards.

Seller says tho Life of St. Bertha is
by an anonymous author of :the loth
or 1 1 th century, and that it is well
established that she was worshipped
directly after her death. Her marriage
and her foundations are facts, but the
story of Roger cannot be traced to any
contemporary source, and is attributed
by Haillet to an author " de mauvaise foi
ct fort i/norant"

Bouquet, ifrcueiV, iii. 021. J. B.
Soller, in AA.SS., from MS. Ada pre
served in her monastery. Baillet, 1 "/»•*.
Butler, Liv<8. Mabillon, AA.SS., O.S.B.,
sice, ii. Duchesne, Script. Franc., i.
<'»•'»."). Her name occurs in the Auctaria
to Usuard, July 4.

St. Bertha (4) of Bingen, May 15.
•J" c. s< »s. She was tho daughter of a
Christian prince of Lothariugia, and
married Robold, a heathen duke of
Bingen. She was soon left a widow
with a son Rupert, three years old, from
whom tho Rupcrtsbcrg took its name.
Bertha retired from her castle, and

120

B. BERTHA

devoted the rest of her life to ftie service
of Christ. Rupert from his earliest
infancy exhibited an unusual gentleness
and sweetness. His mother had him
well instructed, and resolved that he
should rule in his father's stead and
protect the Church. He was good to
the poor, and spent lavishly in building
churches and places of refuge for them.
Resolved, however, to become, like his
blessed Lord, a stranger upon earth, he
left his home and made a pilgrimage to
Rome, where he won all hearts by his
gentle goodness. Here he met holy
men, who warned him to remember the
words of St. Matthew's Gospel, " Go,
sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
and then come and follow Me." Rupert
resolved to follow their advice, and re
turned at length to his mother. He
then divided all his possessions, which
were very great, amongst his servants
and followers, with special provision for
the care of the poor, and retired from
the world. He soon afterwards died of
a fever, in his twentieth year, and was
buried in a church which he had built.
After his death Bertha gave herself up
more than ever to good works, fasting,
almsgiving, and prayer, and after twenty-
five years of patient waiting, she died,
and was buried in the same grave with
her son on the Rupertsberg. ST. HILDE-
GARD calls her Beata. Tritheim speaks
of her as a holy woman. Pictures of
the 1 Oth century represent her with the
nimbus. Henschenius, in AA.SS.

B. Bertha (r>; of Biburg, O.S.B.
1151. Represented with St. Everard,
offering to a bishop and an abbot, who
appear in the clouds, documents with
seals hanging from them ; in the back
ground is a church in process of building.
She wears the halo of a saint. Only
sister of ten brothers, to whom Biburg
belonged. One of these was St. Everard,
first abbot of Biburg, and afterwards
bishop of Salzburg. With the help
and advice of St. Otho, bishop of Bam-
berg, Bertha built a church of the Order
of St. Benedict, and a hospice for the
poor, at Bibnrg. Barefooted, she carried
the stones, and assisted in the pious
work, not only with her wealth, but with
the labours of her hands. Other women

followed her example. The temple was
finished in eight years, and was opened
by St. Otho of Bamberg, and Henry,
bishop of Ratisbon. Bertha lies buried
at Biburg. Jinrarifi Snncta.

St. Bertha ( »', ), March 24, V. Ab
bess. O.S.B. f11(3:i- Daughter of
Lothario di Ugo, count of Vernio. She
is called, by Bucelinus and others, Bertha
de' Bardi. It seems more probable that
she belonged to the family of Alberti,
who were counts of Yernio in the 12th
century; the county only passed into
the hands of the Bardi in the 14th
century. She was born at Florence,
and was very pious from her infancy.
In 114o she took the veil in the convent
of ST. FELICITAS, in Florence, whence
she was sent by the Blessed Gnaldo
Galli, general of the Order of Yallam-
brosa (a branch of the Benedictines), to-
reform and preside over the monastery
of St. Mary, at Capriola or Cavriglia,
in Yaldarno. Bertha was distinguished
by miracles and regarded as a saint.
She was not buried among the other
nuns, but laid in a coffin under the high
altar of the chapel. Brocchi, Suuti
Toscani. Bucelinus, Men. Ben. Helyot,
Ordrcs Monastiqucs,\. 2l». Boll., AA.SS-
Bucelinus says she was descended from
counts of Ravenna.

B. Bertha (7), countess of Raven-
stein. Founder or restorer of the abbey
of Elchingen. 12th century. Honoured
by the people of Bavaria for having
driven away the wild geese from the
banks of the Upper Danube. Her day
is unknown to Cahier. She is not Berthe
Pedauque, nor the Queen of Sheba.
Cahier, C«racteristiqu<s, voc. " Oie."

St. Bertha ( S ) de Marbais, July IS.
"f 1247. Cistercian nun at Aquiria, and
first Abbess of Marquette, or Marchet,
near Lille, which was founded by Jane,
countess of Flanders, in 1227. Migne.
.Diet, dt'8 Abbayes. Henriquez and Bol-
landus.

Ven. Bertha ( '-' ) Jacobi, June 2:>.
142 7- ir> 14. A professed sister of the
rule of Anchorites, she lived at Utrecht
more than fifty-seven years, in her cell,
barefooted, without fire, tasting neither
flesh nor milk, and wearing only a hair
shirt and a single tunic winter and

ST. BESSIA

121

summer. She died at the age of eighty-
seven, and was buried, by her own
desire, in the spot where she had led
this penitential life. D. Papebroch, in
tin- Acta Sanctorum. Appended to his
account is a copy of the rule of the
Anchorites.

St. Bertheline, or BEUTILINE, patron
of Senois, in Guicnnc. Pctits Bol-
\andisti *.

St. Berthgith, BEUATHGIT.

St. Berthilla, BERTILLA.

St. Bertilana, BERTILLA (3).

St. Bertilda, BERTILLA (1).

St. Bertilia, BEUTILLA.

St. Bertiline, BERTHELINE.

St. Bertilia < 1 ),May 11 (BERTHILIA,
BEIITILIAJ. -f c. 660. Of Curtissolra,
or Conrtsohrc, in Hainault. Wife of
St. Walbert, duke of Louvaine, under
Clothairo II. Mother of the holy ab
besses SS. WALTHUDE and ALDEGUND.
She had also a son, St. Ablebert. Pape
broch, in AA.SS. Martin.

St. Bertilia ('2 >, Jan. :j (BKRTHILIA,
or BEHTILIA). •(• 687. Patron of Mar-
cenil. Of noble and wealthy parents.
Married (luthland. They spent their
lives and fortune in works of mercy and
piety. After Guthland's death, Bertilia
gave her property to the Church, only
reserving one small estate, on which she
built a church in honour of Amandus,
and a monastery at Marceuil, in Artois,
wl.«-ro she was buried. Gerard, second
bi>hop of Artois, had her bones taken
ii] i. to honour her as a saint. They are
still venerated there. Pilgrimages for
diseases of the eyes are made to tho
fountain of St. Bertilla at Marceuil.
AA.SS. Saiissayc, Mart. Gall.

St. Bertilia (3), or BERTILANA, Nov.
5, and Juno 27, V. "\ <>i»2 or 702.
A hi .ess of < 'holies. Patron of Chelles,
•I' uiirre, and perhaps of Marolles. It
is more likely that it is by con
founding her with her contemporary
!'• riLLA (2) that she has been called
"ii of Marollcf*. Invoked against
\ellings, sore throats, diseases
«>f horses, storms, hernia in children.
Sli. was a member of a noble family at
Soissons, in the reign of Dagobert I.
H«T parents at first opposed her voca
tion, but afterwards placed her in tho

monastery of Jouarre, near Meaux, newly
founded by St. Ado, brother of her friend
and adviser St. Owen, and where ST.
TEUTEHILD was abbess. Bertilla ac
quitted herself so well that she was
chosen prioress, and when Queen BA-
THILDE refounded the monastery of
Chelles on the Marne, she bogged St.
Teutehild to send Bertilla and a few
nuns to establish tho new community.
Bertilla was tho first Abbess of Chelles,
and ruled for forty-six years, during
which ST. BATHILDE, queen of France,
took the veil there. The English queen,
ST. HKHESWITHA, was probably a nun
there when Bertilla arrived. Under
Bertilla, Cholles became one of tho
famous schools of piety to which English
ladies resorted when they wanted to be
trained in monastic life ; some remained
there, and some, after a time, returned
to teach their countrywomen, and to
plant in England new gardens of living
trees bearing the fruit o/ good works.
Bertilla was ambitious of martyrdom,
but as no persecutors were forthcoming,
she martyred herself with austerities.
It is related that a nun spoke unkindly
to her in a moment of ill temper. Ber
tilla did not answer, but prayed that
God would judge between them. A few
days afterwards the nun died. Bertilla,
fearing that her imprecation might have
brought this judgment, entreated tho
dead woman's forgiveness. Thereupon
tho nun came to life, and said that she
forgave Bertilla, and that God had for
given them both. She then closed her
eyes again in death. Butler, Lives.
Baillet, Vies. Bucelinus, Men. Ben.,
June 27. Menard, Mnrt. Ben., Nov. 4.
Giry, Diet. Hag.

St. Bertoara, or BERTRADE, Dec. 4.
7th century. According to Martin's
French MnrtyroltHjy, St. Bertoara is
patron of tho church of Sales, in Savoy,
whr.ro she was a nun, and is honoured
at Bourges.

St. Bertrade, BERTOARA.

St. Bertrana, July 20, V. Abbess.
S.inssayc, Appendix to Mart. Gall.

St. Besia, M.

St. Bessa, Dec. 18, M. P.B.

St. Bessia ( 1 ;, July 2S, M. at Lao-
dii-ra in Phrygia. AA.SS.

122

ST. BESSIA

St. Bessia ('2 ), YESTIXA. A martyr
of Scillita. (See JANUAHIA (1).)

B. Bessela, March 24. 12th cen
tury. Abbess and founder of Wert.
Wife of Folcold, count of Bern, near
Bois lo Due, and Teisterband. His
lands lay between the Meuse and the
Waal, and included Hensdan, Altena,
and the island of Bomnelaua. Once, in
a battle, being hard beset by his enemies,
lie leaped with his horse into the Meuse,
vowing at the same moment that if he
were saved he would build a monastery.
His safety was ensured by the VIIKM.V
MARY, who was seen sitting behind him
on his horse. He fulfilled his vow in
1134, with the consent of his wife,
Bessela, and the bishop, by turning his
castle of Bern into a monastery of the
Premonstratensian Order. The Blessed
Eobert, abbot of the Island of St. Mary,
a house of the same order, sent him
brothers for his new establishment, and
set the Blessed Everard over them. Fol
cold became a lay- brother in his own
monastery, and lived there for fifteen
years in great humility. Bessela also
took the monastic habit, and became
founder and first abbess of Wert, be
tween the Meuse and the Waal, where
she ruled over seventy Premonstratensian
nuns. Folcold and Bessela died about
1 i:>3. AA.SS., Prseter. Le Paige,
ID ill. Prsem. Ordinis.

St. Beth, ELIZABETH OF REUTHE.

St. Betilda, BATHILDE.

St. Bettelina. Not later than 9th
century. Worshipped at Croyland — sup
posed to have been a nun there. Stadler.

St. Beuve, BOVA.

St. Bevea, BAIIBEA.

St. Bey, BEGA.

St. Beya, BEGA (1), and VEY.

St. Bez, BEGA (1).

St. Bibiana, or YIVIANA, Dec. 2,
V. M. 364. Patron of the city of
Seville ; against epilepsy ; and of drinkers
in Germany ; invoked against drunken
ness and headache, apparently enabling
her votaries to indulge their taste for
strong drink with impunity.

Represented (1) in her church in
Rome, holding a dagger and a palm ;
(2 ) holding a branch with little twigs on
it ; (3) carrying bags.

Daughter of SS. Flavianus and DA-
FROSA. Sister of ST. DEMETKIA. Scourged
to death at Rome, under Apronius, in
the time of Julian the Apostate. Her
body was ordered to be left for beasts to
eat, but after two days it was taken at
night by a pious Christian priest named
John, and buried near the palace of
Lucinius. A chapel was built over her
grave on the restoration of peace to the
Church.

It is not unlikely that her martyrdom
and that of her parents took place in the
reign of Gallienus, just a century earlier.
There was no organized persecution of
the Church under Julian, although there
are instances of such martyrdoms, either
for private ends of the persecutors or on
account of political action on the part
of Christians.

R.M. Butler, Lives. Lcygendario.
Ribadeneyra. Vega. Villegas. Bede.
Husenbeth. AA.SS., St,Pigmemu9t March
23. Baring-Gould, Lives, Dec. 2.

St. Biblias, or BIBLIS, Juno 2. 3rd
century. One of the martyrs of Lyons.
She was one of the ten who, on being
accused as Christians, denied their faith,
and even accused the others of crimes,
in order to screen themselves by appear
ing not to belong to the same community.
The apostates were treated with con
tempt by the multitude, and were kept
in prison with the other Christian con
fessors until the Emperor's pleasure
should be known regarding them. On
the arrival of an order that the Christians
should bo put to death, but that those
who would renounce their errors should
be set at liberty, the apostates were
brought before the tribunal again. To
the surprise of all, they declared them
selves ashamed of their base denial of
their faith, and ready to prove their
repentance by enduring tortures and
death. Biblias, as a Roman citizen, was
beheaded. She was first tortured, and,
when asked if the Christians sacrificed
nnd ate their own children, she answered,
" How can they eat their own children,
when they are not even allowed to eat
the blood of animals?" Baillet, Vie.
(See BLAXDIXA.)

St. Bicca, or NICAS, June 28, M in
Africa. AA.SS.

ST. BLANCHE

L23

St. Bienvenue, BKNVI:M:TA.

St. Bilhild ( 1 i. BH. UK. IIII.I.K.
HII.DIS, Bmm.n, llmmu), Bi.mm.n. 1-Yh.
I'-: with her husband, Oct. 28. 7th
ury. A woman of high rank. Mar
ried St. Faro, a nobleman at the court
of Clothaire II., early in the 7th o-n-
tnry. Faro and Bilhild served God to
gether to tho best of their ability, until
at lust h«j found so many hindrances and
distractions that they agreed to separate.
Bilhild took the veil, and settled in a
solitary place on one of their estates,
supposed to be now Champiguy. Faro
me ji monk, and, in G27, was inudo
Bishop of Meaux. The devil, who is
always watching to destroy the just,
troubled him with memories of his wife.
Ho sent three times to ask her to como
and see him. At last she came ; but, lest
she should expose the servant of God to
tin- traps of Satan, she cut off all her
hair, and put on ugly old clothes and a
cilicium. He admired her courage, and,
shuddering at tho sight of her, sent her
away. She then became a nun under
his sister, ST. FARA. Bucelinus. Mon-
lulembort, Moines. Saussaye, Mart. Gal.

St. Bilhild i 2), GUXTILD (1).

St. Bilhild !.:>, Nov. 27. 8th cen
tury. Al-licss and widow. Born, to
wards the cud of the 7th century, at
Hochheim. Daughter of the noble Ibe-
rim and Mechtrida. She was brought
up at Wurtzburg, and married very
Duke Hottau. When she was
eighteen her husband was Jailed in
battle, and her only child died. She
built tho nunnery of Altmiiuster, or
Antiquacella, at Maintz. She was christ-
i by ln-r unch: Sigobert, bishop of
that city, and ruled over a large com
munity. The monastery was afterwards
called All»as Domino*, "White Ladies,"
and M 1 until the end of tho 18th cen
tury. II. r mum; is in tho German,
•K;h, and Hem -.lie-tine Martyrolo-
bner. The liev. Baring-Gould gives
her Lift from the Maintz Breviary.
Molanns. Bucelinus.

St. Bilhild • I >, or lii.miii.i). A nun
whom St. Pra j.-ctus, bishop of Clermont,

martyr, callc.l -a worthy servant
lirist." ami hold in L'iv:it veneration.
Saussayu, Mart. (,nl., p. H'J1.'.

St. Birgitta, BKIGID of Sweden.

St. Birona, BKATA ('!).

BlSSia of Alexandria, Jtilv L's.
Riche.

St. Bistamona, June 4. Sister of
ST. DIBAMONA, and daughter of Si.
SOPHIA — all martyred in Egypt. Guerin
supposes her to be tho same as Ei.ri-,
or ESPEKANCE. (See FAITH, HOPE,
and CHARITY.) AA.SS. Petits Bol-
landistes.

B. Bivia, companion of B. CATHEKIXE
HoitiGiA, and one of tho first nuns of the
Order of St. Ambrose ad Nemus. Helyot,
Ord. Mou., iv. 9.

St. Blaesilla, Jan. 22. f:r>o. A
disciple of St. Jerome. Her husband
died seven months after their marriage.
After Blaesilla's death, St. Jerome wrote
letters of condolence to her mother, ST.
PAULA, and her sister, ST. EUSTOCHIIM.
Bollandus gives several extracts from his
letters, setting forth her virtues and piety.
Boll., AA.SS.

Blanca (1), ALDA.

Blanca ( - >, BLANCHE.

St. Blanche < l ), Nov. no. c. 1187-
125:5. Wife of Louis VIII., king of
Franco 022.^-1220). Mother of St.
Louis (IX. ) ( 122()-1270). Sho was the
eldest of the eleven or twelve daughters
of Alfonso IX., king of Castillo (1188-
.1214). Three of her sisters were queens
respectively of Portugal, Leon, and
Arragon. Her mother was tho daughter
of Henry II., king of England. Philip
II., called " Augustus " and " tho Great,"
king of France ( 1 180-122:} ), desired, for
political reasons, to make an alliance
with England and with Spain by marrying
his son Louis to tho daughter of the
King of Castillo. John, king of England,
also favoured tho project. Eleanor of
Guienno had married, first, Louis VII. of
France, from whom she was divorced ;
and secondly, Henry II. of England.
Sho was thus grandmother of Louis VIII.
and of Blanche, and took great part in
negotiating tho marriage. As soon as
tho arr;m<_'« nieuts were concluded, she
wnit to Castillo as ambassador for tho
two kings, to propose for tho Princess
1'dunchoand to fetch her. Tho marriage
was celebrated, by proxy ( c. 1 2<n > ), at
Burgos, with great magnificence.

124:

ST. BLANCHE

Blanche's father and his court accom
panied her to the frontier of Gascony,
where Louis sent Matthew de Mont-
morency to receive her. The marriage
could not be solemnized at Paris, because
the kingdom was under an interdict, on
account of Philip's repudiation of his
wife Ingibiorg, and his unlawful marriage
to Agnes of Meran. Normandy, how
ever, being the property of the bride's
uncle, John, king of England, that
monarch went to meet her and conducted
her thither, and the wedding was cele
brated at Parmoy by the Archbishop of
Bonrges in presence of a brilliant
assemblage of prelates and nobles of
France and England. Louis " emmena
sacJiere moicte" to Paris to the gay court
of Philip Augustus, where the greater
part of her married life was passed.
The young couple were thirteen or
fourteen years old, both amiable, inno
cent, pious, and much alike in many
ways, so that they became devotedly
attached, and could not bear io lose sight
of each other, and no couple were ever
more united or more happy. Blanche
was remarkable all her life for her noble
qualities of heart and intellect. When
she came to Franco her beauty and
dignity won the hearts of all the French,
and her conversation was so reasonable
and so charming that it was impossible
to refuse her anything. Her father-in-
law admitted the value of her judgment,
and was often guided by her advice ; her
husband would not undertake the smallest
thing without consulting her. The chief
business of his short reign was the war
with England. The French won back
many of the places which were in the
hands of the English, and would prob
ably have driven them out of France had
Louis not abandoned the struggle for the
purpose of fighting the Albigenses.
Blanche, who had a pious horror of
heretics and infidels, gave some of her
furniture and some valuable rings to
contribute to the expense of a war which
she considered sacred. She went with
him to Languedoc, and lived for some
time in the camp, to encourage the Catho
lics. During this campaign a pestilence
broke out in the French army ; among
the immense number of victims was the

king. He made the nobles swear alle"
giance to his son Louis IX. the Saint,
who was only eleven years old, and
appointed Blanche to be regent until
Louis should reach the age of twenty.

The barons thought the reign of a
child and the regency of a woman an
excellent opportunity to recover the
power and independence they had lost
under Philip Augustus. They banded
together against the queen-mother, but
her firmness of character and political
ability were more than a match for their
arrogant pretensions. The most power
ful of her opponents was Thibault, count
of Champagne, afterwards king of Na
varre, an accomplished knight, a brave
soldier, and a poet, who had long been
in love with Blanche, and having never
received the smallest encouragement
from her, now thought to punish her
cruelty; but she put him to shame by
her remonstrances, and he became her
staunchest champion, and helped her to-
overcome his former colleagues, so that
her regency strengthened the authority
of the crown and enriched it by prudent
alliances.

One of the notable events that occurred
in Europe during her regency was the
establishment, in 1229, of the Inquisi
tion, which Professor Gustavo Masson
characterizes as " the most formidable
engine of ecclesiastical discipline the
world has ever seen."

Blanche took very great trouble and
care in the education of her children.
St. Louis grew up to be one of the best
kings that ever reigned in any country,
and one of the best men that ever lived
in France. She said to the young king,
" My son, I would rather see you dead
than guilty of a mortal sin." She was
regent for him a second time while he
was absent at the sixth crusade (124!»).
She and all his wisest advisers dis
approved of his expedition to Palestine.
She favoured the clergy, both from piety
and policy. Both she and her husband
are revered by Franciscans as members
of their Third Order. The two monas
teries she built were Cistercian, namely,
Maubuisson, at Pontoise, where -she is
buried, and Le Lys, near Meluu, where
her heart is buried. She helped her

ST. BLAXDIXA

125

son to bring to Paris the holy crown of
thorns, which ho got from the Turks.
A festival was instituted in its honour,
Aug. 1 1. (Gynecseum and GbfcJbuA. )

During his second expedition to the
holy wars in the seventh crusade, Blanche
died, on hearing that he had vowed to
remain there.

She had eleven children, several of
whom died young. One was Charles,
count of Anjou, who had Aujou and
Maine from his father, Provence and
Forcalquier from his wife, the kingdom
of the Two Sicilies by his sword. He
would also have had the empire of
Greece, but for the jealousy of the Pope
(Mezerayj.

Of her two daughters, one died in
infancy and the other was SAINTE ISA-
IIKU.K DI: FRANCE.

Mf/uray, Histoire de France. Dr.
Brewer, History of France. Gustavo
M;isson, Mcdiseval France. The con
temporary accounts of the reign of Louis
IX., and particularly of his expedition
to the holy wars, in the collections of
Bouquet, Bouchon, etc., are full of
interest. Saussaye, Mart. GnU. Her
/-'/'• is to be given by the Bollandists
when they come to her day.

B. Blanche (2), April 2t). Daughter
of Philip III. the Fair, king of Franco
< li>.Y- 1:5 14). Worshipped in the con
vent of Longchamps, near Paris, founded
by her great-aunt, ST. ISABELLE DE
FRANCE. AA.SS., Prseter , from the
Fi"' i in-/ si- in M<irt.

B. Blanche (3), Jan. 14. Abbess of
Argensol, in Champagne (founded 1220).
When it was revealed to her that Blanche,
countess of Champagne, queen of Xavarre,
and founder of her convent, must die
and lose her soul, this saintly woman
gave up her own life as the only con
dition on which she could ransom that
of her friend. JUicelinus, Mm. Sen.

St. Blanda (1), May in, M. 222.
Wife of St. Felix, M. Sho was paralytic
and bedridden for four years. Felix,
hearing of the miracles of the Christians,
applied to Palmatias — a consul newly
converted to Christianity — promising to
adopt that religion if his wife were
<•ur.il. Palmatius, who was a guest and
prisoner in the house of Simplicius,

threw himself on his knees and pr.iyo 1
for the restoration of BlamLi to health.
Before an hour had elapsed, Blanda run
to the house, praising God, and begging
to bo baptized with her husband. Pal
matius then sent for St. Calixtus, the
Pope, who baptized them and converted
and baptized Simplicius, his wife and
children, and about sixty-eight persons
of his household. The Emperor Alex
ander was very angry, and had all the
new converts beheaded and their heads
stuck on the different gates of Kerne, as
a warning to Christians. I?.J/. Boll.,
AA.SS., who give the Acts " per notaries
Romanes Couscripta."

Blanda (2), May l;j, June 12;
with St. Eleutherius, Feb. 20, V. <>th
century. Raised to life, baptized and
consecrated to God by St. Eleutherius,
bishop of Tournay. Sho led a holy
life, and her relics are honoured, with
those of Eleutherius, in the cathedral of
Tournay. Gallia Christiana, iii. 571.
Henschenius, AA.SS., Feb. 20.

St. Blandina, June 2, Y.M. f c. 177.
One of the martyrs of Lyons. Patron
of young girls.

Represented ( 1 ) with a gridiron ;
(2) tied to a stake or pillar, a lion, bear,
or ox standing by.

A sanguinary and indiscriminate per
secution of tlio ( 'liristiaus occurred at
Lyons and Yienne, in the reign of one
of the best of men, as well as most
tolerant of rulers, namely, Marcus Aure-
lius Antoninus. These cruelties were
carried on by the local authorities after
the Emperor had ordered the suspension
of the persecution. There is nothing in
sacred history more authentic than the
story of the Martyrs of Lyons. The
circumstances are related in a letter
from the surviving Christians of those
Churches to those of Phrygia and Asia.
This letter is supposed to bo written by
St. Irenteus, coadjutor of St. Photinus,
bishop of Lyons. Part of it is preserved
in the Ecd&fattical Jlint<n // of Eusebius,
who says that ho has given it in full in
his Book of Martyrs, which is lost.
The letter says that uthe faithful were
dragged about the streets, imprisoned,
stoned, and overwhelmed with outran
Among the most distinguished of the

120

ST. BLANDIXA

forty-nine martyrs was Vettius Epaga-
thus, who, before he had be^n arrested
or accused as a Christian, publicly re
monstrated against the injustice of con
demning them without evidence ; and
undertook to prove that they were
innocent of any crime. He was placed
amongst the confessors, and it is probable
that as a Roman citizen he was one of
those eventually beheaded, like Attains,
who, after being led into the amphi
theatre to fight with beasts for the
amusement of the populace, was re
manded to prison for a time and suffered
the more dignified penalty. Sanctus a
deacon, and Maturus a neophyte, were
killed by being roasted in hot iron
chairs. The aged Bishop Photinus
was one of several who died of the
poisonous atmosphere of the prison,
before any torture was inflicted on them.
Ten of the accused apostatized ; among
them ST. BIBLIAS. They were im
prisoned with the rest, and treated with
greater contempt on account of their
cowardice. It happened that some of
the Christians had heathen slaves who
were arrested with them, and these, in
their terror of being identified with the
proscribed sect, accused them of the
most horrible crimes. Meantime the con
fessors would not allow any one to call
them martyrs. By their intercession
and example, they reclaimed many of
the apostates. After some delay, while
the Emperor's decision was awaited,
these were re-examined, and were offered
their liberty, on condition that they
should positively renounce their religion,
but, with the exception of those who had
never been Christians at heart, and had
led wicked lives, they only desired the
privilege of suffering with their brethren,
who now received them with open arms.
Blandina was a slave, of such a delicate
constitution and so little courage that
her mistress, who was among the martyrs,
feared she would bo wearied or terrified
into apostasy. The executioners relieved
each other in torturing her, from dawn
iintil sunset, in order to induce her
to accuse her mistress and the other
Christians, as the heathen slaves had
done. But she said, " I am a Christian ;
crimes are not tolerated among us."

After many kinds of torture had been
tried upon her, she was bound to a stake
to be devoured by the wild beasts that
were driven into the arena. Hanging
thus, as if on a cross, and praying
earnestly, she greatly encouraged the
other confessors, who saw in their sister
an image of Him who was crucified for
them. As none of the beasts would
touch her, she was taken back to the
prison. On the last day of the gladia
torial games, she and Ponticus, a lad of
fifteen, who seems to have been her
brother, after they had witnessed the
death of all their companions, were com
manded to swear by the idols. Ponticus,
encouraged by Blandina, refused, and
was at once put to death. Blandina was
scourged, torn by beasts, and made to
sit in the burning chair, after which she
was enveloped in a net and thrown down
before a wild cow, which tossed her
about and tore her limb from limb.
The pagans admitted that none of their
women could have endured such torments
so bravely. The bodies of the saints
were given to be eaten by dogs, and
soldiers watched day and night to
prevent any of them from being buried
by their friends. Some tried in vain to
bribe the guards to give up the bodies,
but all that remained of the martyrs was
burned and the ashes thrown into the
Rhone. It was presumed that this would
destroy the hope of their resurrection.
The names of the martyrs who suffered
at the same time as Blandina are judged
to have been taken from the original
account. Twelve men and twelve women
were beheaded as Roman citizens. The
women were SS. ALBINA, BIBLIAS or
BIBLIS, ELPIS who is also called AMNKA
or AMNIA, EMILIA, GRATA or AGRATA,
JULIA, MATERNA, POMPEIA, POSTUMIANA
or POTAMIA, MAIITA, RHODANA, ROGATA.
Nine men and nine women died in prison ;
the latter were SS. ALUMNA or DOMNA,
ANTONIA, AUSONIA, EMILIA, JAMNICA or
GAMNITE, JULIA, JUSTA, POMPEIA, and
TiioriiiMA. Blandina was the only
woman who was thrown to the beasts.
Some of the Christians were brought
from Vienne to Lyons to be tried and
executed with their brethren there ; but
they are generally all called *• The

ST. BOX A

127

Martyrs of Lyons ; " they are also called
"Martyrs of Aisnai" — supposed to bo
the spot in Lyons where they were put
to death. According to another theory,
the site of their martyrdom was the
amphitheatre on Mount Forviere. Blan-
dina is generally considered the chief
of these martyrs, and churches dedicated
in honour of the forty-eight Martyrs of
Lyons are often called by her name.

'/t'..lf. AA.SS. Tillemont. Baillet.
Butler. Th,- Epistle of the GaUim,,
Church, s, translated by P>indley(S.P.C.K.).

St. Blata, or BLATHA, i.e. Flora, Jan.
20, V. ST. BRIGID'S cook, f c. :>2:;.
Colgan, Ii-'txli Snintx, ii. <>2i>, Appendix.

St. Blath (1), an Irish V., Jan. 18,
honoured with ST. SCOTH (2).

St. Blath (2), BLATA.

St. Blatta, April 22, V. Nun at
Anastasiopolis, the capital of Ancyra.
Sister of St. Theodore Syceota ("f (>13),
bishop of Anastasiopolis, archimandrite
of the monasteries of Galatia. Boll.,
AA.SS., Praett,:

St. Blictrude. Supposed to mean
PLECTRUDK.

St. Blida, May :i<>. llth century.
Mother of St. Walstan. Wife of Bene
dict, of a rich and influential family. They
lived at Baber, afterwards called Baw-
burgh, in Norfolk, where Walstan was
born. He was ascetic and pious from
his youth. He gave his own clothes and
shoes to the poor, and became a farm-
servant at Taverham, near Cossey. Ho
died working in the field, May .'5<>5 1016.
All these places are within a few miles
of Norwich. A well near Cossey still
bears his name, and pilgrimages were
made to ensure his intercession against
fever, lameness, blindness, and palsy.
I51ida is represented (1) as a saint, on
the chancel window of North Tudden-
hain Church ; (2) crowned, and holding
a book and palm. This representation
was formerly to bo seen on the rood-
screen of St. James's, Norwich, and is
now in private possession at Aylslmni.
Husenbeth, EmlJ, /»* of X /////*. IJutler,
Liv<'8. Capgrave, fol. :

Blithildis <>r Blithilda, GKRB]

St. Blittrude, PI.K m DB.

St. Bogha, sister of SS. COLMA and

\U.\.

B. Bogna, June 1:;. llth century.
One of the patrons of Poland. She and
her husband were of the most illustrious
families in Poland. They were childless
for thirty years. In lO.'Jn their son
Stanislas Sezepanowski was born at
Sc/epano\v, near Cracow. As bishop of
that town, he was the only person who
dared to reprove Boleslas II. the Cruel,
for his licentious, tyrannical, and bar
barous conduct. After repeated remon
strances, ho excommunicated the king,
who therefore murdered him, 1079.
Stanislas and his mother are buried at
Sezepanow. The Bollandists do not
sanction her worship, but describe her
virtues and those of her husband in the
Life of their son St. Stanislas, May 7.
Butler, Lives, "St. Stanislas." Bogna
appears in the AA.SS. amongst the
PseterwixKi, June l.'J.

St. Bologne, BHLMXIA.

St. Bolonia, Oct. l»l (in French,
BOLOGNE or BOULOGNE), V. M. "f" c. 372
or 'M2. Worshipped at Chaumont,
Haute Marne. When she was very
young her mother died, leaving her to
the care of a ( Christian nurse. Her
father, for fear of the Emperor, sent her
away to live with the nurse. Bolonia
tended the sheep. When she was fifteen
Ptolemy, a general under Julian, tried
to seduce her and then to marry her.
He persecuted her in various ways, and
after many tortures, ordered her to-
sacrifice to the gods. She answered, " I
sacrifice myself to the living God." Ho
put her into a vessel full of water, with
stones and fetters to ensure her being
drowned. In this she was thrown from
the top of the hill on which her father's
castle stood, and arrived safe and well,
shining with unearthly beauty and glory,
on the bank of the river. Then her
head was cut off, and she carried it in
her hands across tlie river to bo burl- 1.
She was not, as some have supposed, tho
sister of SS. Gall and Bercharius. Bou
logne, in Chaumont, is said to bo named
after her. She is worshipped there with
a special service of nine lessons and two
collects, although she is not mentioned
in the old nmrtyrologies. Boll., AA.SS.,
< )ct. It'. ; and Prxbr., July 1 7.

St. Bona (1), Sept. 12 (CABJCUHDIOA,

128

ST. BOXA

MI.NDICORDA), V. Supposed a nun in
Egypt, in the 7th centur^. AA.SS.,
Prdettr. Worshipped at Treviso. Migue.
Ferrarius.

St. Bona (2), B..VA.

St. Bona (:i), May 20, V. of Pisa.
1156-1207. Represented carrying a
pilgrim's staff and a short double-barred
cross in her joined hands. She had
three half-brothers, the Patriarch of
Jerusalem, the Master of the Temple,
and a Knight Hospitaller. From early
youth she was under the direction of
angels, and was the subject of visions.
She led a life of great austerity, wearing
a hair shirt and an iron belt under her
clothes. Notwithstanding the opposition
of her family, she went on pilgrimage to
the Holy Land, and afterwards to Santiago
de Compostella. During her journeyings
she was attacked and wounded by robbers ;
she crossed rivers dry-shod, and otherwise
miraculously helped herself and others.
After her return, she built a church at
Pisa in honour of St. James of Com
postella. She devoted herself to a
religious life in the Order of Canons
Eegular. She died in the odour of
sanctity. She was buried in the church
of St. Martin, at Pisa, followed to the
grave by the archbishop and a great
concourse of people. An altar was
afterwards dedicated there in her name.
She was never canonized, but was
worshipped at Pisa. AA.SS. Cahier,
Carac&rittiquei. Husenbeth, Emblems.
The ring with which she was married to
Christ and the table at which He supped
with her were reverently preserved at
two monasteries near Pisa. Lives of the
Brethren.

St. Bona (4), Aug. 5. t 12^.
3rd O.S.F. St. Lucchese or Lucesio,
and his wife St. Bona or BUONA DONNA,
lived at St. Casciano, where several
children were born to them. They
afterwards removed to Poggibonsi.
Lucchese took part with the Guelphs.
He spent most of his substance in keep
ing up his rank. He then sot about
restoring his fortune by trade, and became
a provision merchant. This trade brought
him the temptation to wish for a famine
for the sake of the profits he could make.
He soon repented of his wicked desire,

and, after the death of his children, he
gave away all that he had, except a small
sum with which he bought a little garden
and maintained himself and his wife.
He wished to join the Poor Friars, as
the Brothers of St. Francis were called ;
but not being able to do so, he prayed
to be taught how to sanctify his soul in
the world. He devoted himself to works
of benevolence, begging from the rich
for the sake of the poor, visiting the
Maremma every summer, to minister to
the wants of those who suffered from the
heat and the unhealthy air, at the same
time exhorting them to repentance and
righteousness. At first Bona blamed
his excessive charity, and feared he would
leave her and himself in destitution.
One day she was angry with him for
giving away the last morsel of bread in
the house. He answered that He who
had multiplied the five loaves would be
able to provide for them. Presently
some beggars came to the door, and
Lucchese told his wife to go to the cup
board and get them something. She
laughed, knowing the place was empty ;
but he again bade her go. She went,
and found a large supply of bread.
From that time she always gave without
stint, and when St. Francis came, preach
ing poverty and charity, Bona was as
ready as her husband to receive his
instructions.

Such was the compunction caused by
the preaching of this great apostle, that
numbers of people crowded into the
monasteries, and thousands more were dis
posed to follow, regarding the cloistered
life as the only way of saving their souls.
St. Francis discouraged this movement ;
he told them they could not secure their
salvation by burying themselves in the
religious houses, and that many of them
would serve God better by carrying on
their ordinary business righteously and
bringing up their children virtuously.
It was for such as these that, in 12121, he
instituted his Third Order. The rule
was simple, and it was expressly declared
that it did not oblige under pain of
sin. Four things were required of the
candidates: (1) restoration of all goods
unjustly acquired ; (2) reconciliation
with all adversaries : (:>) observance of

ST. BONOS A

the commandments of God and the pre
cepts of the Church and the Rule : i 4 )
in case of the reception of a murri> ••!
woman, her husband's consent was neces
sary. They wore a simple grey dress
and the Franciscan cord ; they were not
allowed to attend theatrical representa
tions, dances, or revels. They were to
regulate their worldly affairs and make
their wills. Eventually the Third Order
betook themselves to cloisters, throwing
away what was perhaps the most bene
ficial part of the system of their founder.
Lucchose and Bona continued to be
members of this order for nineteen
years. At one time Lucchese appears to
have lived alone in a hermitage, visiting
Bona and assisting her in good works.
Bona fell ill, and Lucchese, who was also
ill, went to see her, and advised her to
receive the Holy Communion. When
she had done so, ho said, " My dear
companion, God, who gave us grace to re
nounce our property together, is going to
grant us the favour of leaving the world
together ; wait a little while until I have
received the Holy Sacrament, and then
we will go together to eternal happiness."
He went back to his hermitage, sent for
his confessor and the parish priest, and
received with great devotion. He re
turned in a state of extreme exhaustion
to Bona, who died holding his hands.
He was carried back to his hut, where
he died with his eyes fixed on the crucifix,
on April 2s, on which day ho is com
memorated in the Franciscan Martyrohr/y.
They were both buried in the Franciscan
church at Poggibonsi, afterwards called
San Lucchese.

Brocchi, Sunti Fiorcnttni. Magliano,
Hist. J''nineincintn. Praycr-Jtook. Luc-
cheso may mean a man of Lucca, and
Buona Donna, a good woman, his wife.

B. Bona (o) d'Armagnac, Oct. 26.
loth century. Clarissan nun in the
convent of St. Anne of Lezignan, near
BTarbonne. Daughter of the Count d'Ar-
ma^nac. Burn in answer to the prayers
. COLKTTI:, who told the count and
countess that their first child would bo
;i 'laughter, and become a holy nun of
h«-r order, the K< 'formed Order of St.
Fr:u:«-is al I.- /i^nan, and that they mu>t
not oppose her vocation. Accordingly,

their eldest child became a nun of that
order, and three years after her pro
fession she died in the odour of sanctity,
under the name of S<EUU BONNE. Jumel,
L'.f> of St. Coh'ttf. AA.SS., Prsetcr.

Sainte Bonde, SANTA BONDA. Cor
ruption of St. Abundius, bishop of Como,
who died 4(58. A convert of Santa
Bonda is mentioned in the letters of St.
Catherine of Siena. AA.SS., April 2.
Helyot, Ilist. Ord. Non., iii.

SS. Bonifacia. Four women of this
name appear as martyrs in old calen
dars.

St. Bonita, Oct. in, V. Oth, 10th,
or llth century. A goose-girl in the
village of Alvier, in Auvergne. She
had a great devotion to St. Julian. In
answer to her fervent prayer, an angel
took her across the river in time of flood,
so that sho might worship at his tomb
as usual. After this she led an angelic
life. Tradition adds that she lived when
the English were fighting in that part
of Franco. AA.SS.

B. Bonizella, May »>, widow, f 800.
Her body is preserved entire in the
church of Trequanda, in the dioceso of
Siena, and her festival is kept there on
the third Sunday in May. Her history
is lost, and is believed to have been
destroyed in a fire in 1 .'384. AA.SS.
Bonne, Bona < ">).
St. Bonosa (I ), in French VENEUSE,
VEXOUSE, Feb. 2, July 15, a Roman
V. M. 207, at Porto Romano, under
Severus. The Leggenfario says that
when sho was condemned to bo beaten,
she was miraculously concealed from the
eyes of her tormentors, although sho
could feel their blows. She was then
given into the care of a prefect, who was
to convert her if ho could, and otherwise
to kill her. When sho was again con
demned to be scourged, the executioners
were seized with ucuto pains in their
arras, and found themselves unable to
use the whips. Sho was kept many days
in a dark prison, and finally beheaded.
Fifty soldiers wero converted by her
and put to death with her. They are
honoured as martyrs. St. Bonosa is
commemorated in the Uummi Murtyro-
/".///, July !."», with her brother St.
Eutropius, and sister ST. ZOZIMA, all

K

130

ST. BOXOSA

martyred at Porto "Romano. The Mur-
tyrolo<jii of St. J< rom<> says \hat their
sepulchre was venerated in Nisela, or ///
insuld. The fragments of a magnificent
stone were discovered at two different
times, in 1837 and in 18,58, about a
mile from the walls of Porto Romano,
near the Capo due Rami, where the island
begins. All the modern discoveries tend
to establish the tradition that the three
martyrs were buried here. Civilta Cat-
tolicfi, seria vi. vol. 7, p. 481, Aug. 11,
isilii. R.N., July 15. Boll., AA.SS.
Leggendario delle Sante Veryini, Feb. 2.

St. Bonosa (2), May 10, M. at
Tarsus, in Cilicia. Boll., AA.SS.

St. Bonosia, Feb. 2, M. at Rome,
with Cappa and many others. Boll.,
AA.SS.

St. Borema, BEATA (l;.

St. Botild, or BOTHILDIS, July 28.
"f 1102. Queen of Denmark. Daughter
of Turgot, or Trugillus, a Swedish noble.
Wife of Eric II. (Eycgodj, king of
Denmark (1095—1102), stepson of ST.
GUDA. Botild suffered her husband's
infidelities meekly. He was beloved by
his people for many noble qualities, but
was liable to fits of fury, in one of which
he killed some of his faithful servants.
His repentance was deep, and after pay
ing the blood fine, he could not quiet
his conscience without making a pil
grimage to Jerusalem to atone for the
sin of murder. When his intention was
known, his people besought him not to
go, and offered a third of their property
to pay for Masses, and to buy off the
king's vow. He insisted on going, and
Botild determined to accompany him.
One of his illegitimate sons was ap
pointed regent. Knud, the only son
Botild had given to Eric, was left at
home ; he grew up a great warrior, and
was crowned King of the Obotrites by
the Emperor Lothaire. The pilgrims
went through Russia to Constantinople,
and thence to Cyprus, where Eric was
taken ill and died. -Botild proceeded on
her pilgrimage, and died on the Mount
of Olives, within sight of the gates of
.Jerusalem, in 1 H>2. Some historians
place their death a year later. During
their life, Eric's brother Knud, king of
Denmark, was canonized. A^astovius,

IV//8 Aquilonm. Saxo Grammaticus,
7//.S-/. D/ni. Otto, tfnntdhitn-iii. Dalin.
»S/w/ Hil:t'8 Historifi. Mas Latrie, Tremor,
Hamsfortii, Citron. Langebek, Scriptores
Hcnun Uttiiii'm-iiiii, i. 271. Dahlmanu,
])< in //'//•/,-.

St. Boulogne, BOLONIA.

St. Bourguine, BUHGUXDOFOKA.

St. Bova, April 24, sometimes erro
neously called BONA, in French BKUVE,
V. Abbess at Rbeims. (>th or 7th cen
tury. Sister of St. Balderic, or Baudri,
founder and abbot of Montfau<;on, or
Fauquemont, near Rheims. These saints
are said to have been the children of a
King Sigebert. If Mr. Baring-Gould is
right in making him Sigebert I., who
began to reign 5(51, their mother was the
celebrated Queen Brunehaut, whose mar
riage is said to be the first that was
solemnized with a religious ceremony
in France. Butler and Baillet say Bova
was a great lady at the court of King
Dagobert, and edified the court by
her virtues until she was about thirty
years old, when, about (W, she with
drew to the monastery St. Balderic had
built for her in a suburb of Rheims.
Here she was soon joined by her niece,
ST. DODA. Balderic went to stay with
his sister and niece, and died in their
nunnery. Bova did not long survive
him. Doda succeeded her aunt as abbess,
about (57:5. These saints are mentioned
by Flodoard,in his history of the Church
of Rheims ( 10th century). The original
history of their lives was destroyed in a
great fire. In the 10th century an
anonymous author compiled another,
with the help of the nuns who had often
heard it read. Butler, Lives. Baillet,
Vies. Hugo Menard, Mart. Ben. Baring-
Gould, Liven, "St. Balderic," Oct. If,.

St. Boylette, COLETTE BOILKT.

St. Bozena, BKATIUCE (2).

St. Breaca, Oct. 27, June 4 (Bin: \<;i:,
liiiKCA, BHKOCK, BIJH;, BUIGA, BKIGH ).
.">th or (>th century. Possibly the same
as BKIGA ( :> ) or (4). Breaca joined or
headed a band of Irish missionary
settlers. Accompanied by her foster-
son, King Germoe, SS. Fingar and
I'IAI.A, IA, IJriiiAN. CIJKWKNNA, and
several others, she crossed over from
Ireland to Cornwall, where they landed

ST. BRKiA

131

in the Hayle estuary on the north coast.
They were well received by King Theo
dore. Breaca built several churches.
< 'ornish legend says she was a midwife,
and the sister of St. Levin. Ho was a
hermit at Bodellen, in Cornwall. He
used to catch one fish every day for his
own food. One evening, when he went
fishing, he caught two bream on his
hook. He took them both off, and threw
them back into the sea ; the same two
came again a second and a third time;
he supposed thero was some reason for
this double supply, and carried them
both home; there ho found that his
sister St. Breaca had come to visit him
with her two children, who had had a
long walk, and were very hungry. The
fish were cooked for supper. The chil
dren ate their portions eagerly, without
waiting to pick out the bones, and both
were choked. From that day the bream
Las been called by the Cornish fisher
men, chaJc-cheel (choke-child j ; some
people say it was the chad, but the bream
has very dangerous bones, and is more
likely to have been tho fatal food.
Nothing is known with any certainty
about St. Levin, and some of the stories
give him, instead of Breaca, a sister
Manaccan. AA.SS. British Pi>'ty. A.
Forster, Emjlish Di'd'<c<iti<m8. Kev. S.
Darin;.: (iniild, />Wi- of tin- West. Forbes.
Hunt. 7Vy//>/.//- lin,,,,nn'L'B of the West of
England . . . Ti-«>lit'«>ii8 of Old Cornwall.
Smith ami Ware.

Breenada, .July :;, V. ?th century.
Irish. Commemorated with Tirechan,
a disciple of Ultan. Boll., AA.SS.,
Prxter.

St. Breeyith,

St. Brega, B«OA.

St. Breock, 15i;i:\« \.

St. Brettiva, Jan. 11 (Bmcnvl,

BI.HIIIA. r.i;on.\\, I5i:vKKi;j. Supposed
1" ho Irish, but worshipped chiefly in
Norway ami Iceland. From tin- llth
<•' -utiiry her name appears thero in the
Catal : saints' days io he kept

huly. llrotcva is still found as a name
MI In-laii'l. ami popularly understood to
mean tin- guilty Kve. In tho Nor
wegian calendars a horse is the sign f..r
St. Urottiva's day. The word /•/<//-
to turn violently, to double up.

A farmer drove out for hay on that day.
Being warned that it was />/ < //' M
he obstinately and profanely made a
pun on her name, by answering, " Turn
me this way, turn me that, I'll turn me
home a load of hay." But his horse
fell and broke its leg. Tho pictured
horse, therefore, stands in tho calendar
as a warning. The festival is also called
Jirykki' M<'88>r and 7>/v//.-Ks- M-asn, from
tho custom of the remnants of the Yule
fare being stewed and eaten on that day.
Keport xx. Antiquarian Society of Cam
bridge.

St. Brewo, WINIFRED.

St. Bricheza, a mistake for ST.

liICIIKXA.

St. Brictiva, BKETTIVA.

St. Bride, BIIIGID (2).

St. Bridget, BKIGID.

St. Brie, BKIGID ( 2 I.

St. Brig, BIIKACA.

St. Briga, or BKIGH. Briga is one
of the names of ST. BHIGID, besides
which there are several Brigas, called
also Brigh. (I) A pious matron,
daughter of Feargna, who assisted St.
Patrick in his labours; (2) Brigh of
Coirpre, Jan. 7, who is possibly the
same as Briga ( 1 i. Smith and Wace.
( )'llanlon.

St. Briga (-5), or P>KK;II, Feb. 1.
Knd of .">th or beginning of o'th century.
An abbess in Leinster, contemporary
and friend of ST. BKIGID (2). At one
of her frequent visits to St. Briga's
convent, when the nuns had washed the
feet of their beloved guest, one of them,
who had long lost the use of hers from
gout, put them into the same water.
I lei ore she had time to dry them, they
wen- perfectly well. When Brigid,
Iliiga, and tho nuns were at dinner, they
noticed that Hrigid kept her eyes fixed
• MI one spot. They asked her the reason.
She said she saw tho devil sitting there
amongst them. At Briga's request she
made the sign of tho cross on her eyes,
and so enabled her to see him too. lie
had an immense head, a black face, fiery
. flaming breath, thick knees and
ankles. Urigid asked him why he and
his companions bore so fierce a hafred
towards the human race. Ho answered,
'• Ik-cause wo do not wish any one to

132

ST. BRIGA

enjoy the glories of heaven, since we
ourselves have lost all hope of entering
there." " Ah ! " said the saint, " how
different is my inclination ! If I could
not go to heaven myself, I should wish
to open to all others the gates that I
knew to be shut against me." She then
asked what business he had in a re
ligious community. lie told her that
he was harboured there by one of the
nuns, who did his will rather than that
of her ostensible Master. Brigid ascer
tained from him the name of the nun,
and then opened her eyes with the sign
of the cross, that she might see what a
hideous and cruel master she served.
The nun, with tears, besought her
prayers, and promised to amend her
life. Brigid then banished the devil
from amongst them, and the nun led a
holy, penitential life, and was saved.
Boll., AA.SS., in the fifth Life of St.
Brigid.

St. Briga (-4), Jan. 7, was the sister
of St. Brendan, the navigator. After
his seven years' voyage, he founded the
monasteries of Clonfert and Annadown,
and set his sister over the latter, and
there, in 577, he died in her arms, at
the age of ninety-four. Smith and
Wace. This Briga is thought to be the
same as ST. BREACA, who settled in
Cornwall, but it does not seem very
likely that, when her brother had died
at ninety-four, she could have been
young enough to start on a missionary
tour to another country.

Briga (5), BREACA.

Brighe, BRIGID (2).

Brighite, BUIGID (2).

St. Brigid (1), Feb. l, with Helen
(4)^ Sapientia (2), cousins of ST.
URSULA, and daughters of St. Kilian,
one of the conductors of her campaign.
AA.SS., Oct. 21.

St. Brigid (2), Feb. 1, born about
the middle of the 5th century, died in or
before 525 (BREEYITH, BRIDE, BRIDGET,
BRIGHIT, BRIGIDA, BRIID, BRITTA, BRYDE,
BHYDOCK ; in France, BRIGITTE ; in Hol
land, BRIE, BRIGHE ; the MARY of Ire
land;, the "Fiery Dart." Patron of
Ireland, Leinster, Kildare, of the family
of Douglas, and of cattle and dairies.
The dedications in her name arc very

numerous in Ireland and on the western
side of Great Britain.

Represented (1) with flames playing
round her head; (2) with a cow and a
large bowl.

The greatest of all the Irish saints,
except St. Patrick. Founder of the
first nunnery in Ireland, and chief over
many monasteries for both sexes. Bishop
Conlaeth, or Conlian, at the time head of
the bishops and abbots, attended to the
spiritual interests of her nuns and the
services of her church.

Montalembert says that Ireland was
evangelized by two slaves, Patrick and
Bridgid; that Brigid was twice sold,
was flogged, insulted, and subjected to
the hardest labour required of a female
slave in those days ; she learnt mercy
in the school of suffering and oppression ;
she became a nun, but by no means a
recluse ; she travelled all over Ireland,
and had frequent and important inter
course with all sorts and conditions of
persons, but always in the interest of
souls, or with a view to helping the
unfortunate. She was honoured with
the friendship and confidence of the
holiest and most learned Irishmen of
her time, among whom tradition places
St. Ere, bishop of Slane, St. Mel of
Ardagh, Cailaet, bishop of Kildare, St.
Ailbe of Emly, St. Brendan of Clonfert,
St. Gildas, who sent her a small bell
cast by himself. St. Finnian was also
her contemporary, and once preached
before her and her nuns at Kildare.
She is believed to have been contem
porary with St. Patrick, although much
younger. There is considerable un
certainty as to her dates, and still more
as to his. She died, upwards of seventy,
in or before ."> 2 ,">. In an old Life of St.
Patrick, it is said that she fell asleep
while he was preaching, and that he
made her tell her dream, which he inter
preted as referring to the future history
of Ireland. One legend says that he
taught her to piny on the harp, and that
she embroidered a shroud for him at his
own request, and took it to him at the
monastery of Saball ; he then charged
her to bless Ireland for thirty years
after his death.

Here are some of the countless tradi-

ST. BRIGID

133

tions concerning St. Brigid. She was
tli-- •laughter of Dubtuch, a nobleman
of Leinster, who \\ii-; <lt scended from
Eochard, brother of King Conn of the
Hundred Battles; her mother was Broet-
seach or Brocessa O'Connor, his slave.
Diihtnch's wife had several sons, but no
daughter, and her jealousy of Brocessa
was increased by the prophecy that Bro
cessa would give birth to a daughter
who should bo very illustrious. She
insisted that Brocessa should bo sent
away. So Dubtach sold her to a
magician or bard at Faugher, near Dun-
dalk, with the condition that her child
should bo returned to him. The night
that she arrived in her new home, a holy
man came begging for hospitality. Ho
I>.i-sed the whole night in prayer, and in
the morning told his host he had seen a
globe of fire resting over the place where
the servant slept. One day the bard
invited his king and queen to supper,
but the queen could not come because
she was hourly expecting to have a
child. The friends and servants of the
king inquired of the bard what sort of
child the queen would have, and when it
would be born. Ho told them that it
would have no equal in Ireland if it were
born at sunrise, neither in the house nor
out of the house. At midnight the
qii'-cn LMV. birth to a son. Very early
in the morning, Brocessa went and milked
the cows as usual. She returned with a
large pail of milk. As she entered her
master's door, having one foot in the
house and one foot out, she fell down on
the threshold, and there, at the moment
of sunrise, she was delivered of a
daughter, Brigid, whoso infancy was
illustrated by prodigies, and who was
evidently under the immediate protection
of Heaven. Flames often filled her room
01 surrounded her head, but did not
hurt her or destroy anything. No food
found to suit her until the magician
set apart a beautiful white cow for her
use, and got a Christian woman to milk
it. According to agreement, the bard
sent the child Urijid to her father.
Once she went to help her mother, who
was making butter and taking care of
the cows some distance from her master's
house. As fast as the butter was made,

Brigid, who said, ** Every guest is
Christ," gave it all away to beggars and
travellers. After a time the magician
and his wife came to the farm to fetch
the butter. When Brigid saw what a
largo cask they had brought to carry it
away in, she was much embarrassed,
knowing she had only the supply of one
day and a half; however, she received
them cheerfully, washed their feet, and
gave them food. She then went to her
own cell and prayed, and afterwards
brought the butter she had to the bard's
wife, who laughed at her and said, "Is
that all the butter you have made in so
many days?" Brigid said, "Fill the
cask : you shall have butter enough."
The woman began putting the butter
into her large receptacle out of Brigid's
little one, and very soon it was quite
full. When the magician saw that
miracle, ho said to Brigid, " You shall
have all the butter for yourself, and the
twelve cows which you have milked
shall be yours also." Brigid said,
" Keep your cows, and give me my
mother's freedom." The magician an
swered, " The cows and the butter and
your mother are yours." Then he be
lieved in Christ and was baptized, and
Brigid gave all his gifts to the poor, and
returned to Dubtach with her mother.
Her father offered to sell her to the
king, saying that he wished to get rid of
her because she gave to the poor every
thing she could lay her hands upon.
While they were in the house discussing
the matter, Brigid was left in the carriage
at the door. A beggar asked her for
alms, and as she had no money she gave
him her father's sword, which was a gift
from the king. When ho came back,
she said that what she gave to the poor
she gave to Christ, that her father and
the king ought to bo glad that the sword
was so honoured, and that if she could,
she would give them both, and every
thing that belonged to them, to Christ.
The king then gave her a new sword for
her father.

Some Christians, travelling through
the country, wore taken by Dubtach's
followers. As they could not give a
satisfactory account of themselves, they
were condemned to death as rogues and

134

ST. BRIGID

spies. Brigid said they were jninstrels,
and bade them play on her harp. " Alas,"
said the strangers, " we have never learnt
music." " Fear not," replied Brigid,
" play." And she blessed their hands,
laying her own upon them ; whereupon
the strangers played and sang more
beautifully than any minstrels that had
ever been heard in that hall.

When she was sixteen, her wisdom
and beauty were praised throughout the
land. Her father, who had no other
daughter, wished her to make an advan
tageous marriage; but Brigid, being
determined to consecrate her life to the
service of God and to works of mercy,
prayed that some deformity might come
upon her to deliver her from liability to
marriage. Immediately one of her eyes
burst in her head, thus destroying all
her beauty. Dubtach then permitted
her to take the veil. As she knelt to
receive it, the wood of the altar became
green at her touch, and for years after
wards effected miraculous cures. At the
same time, her lost eye was restored, and
a pillar of fire appeared above her head.
Her enthusiasm soon led other women
to join her. At first they lived together
at Kilbrighde, or Kilbude, near the sea.
There are many places of this name in
Ireland, but this is supposed to be the
one in the county Waterford. After a
time, Brigid built herself a cell under a
goodly oak, and added a church and
other buildings for her nuns. This was
Kildare, Kil Dara, the cell or chapel of
the oak. There were already communi
ties of men, and there were churches and
Christian schools, but this was the first
convent of women in Ireland. The
dwellings of the nuns were probably a
number of huts or cells close to the
church. The church was divided into
three parts, one for monks, one for nuns,
and one for the people.

Brigid always showed a deep and
tender sympathy for slaves and captives,
whose troubles she knew by experience.
Once she went to ask for the liberty of
a captive ; the master was absent, but she
made friends with his foster-father and
brothers by teaching them to play the
harp, and had already a strong party in
her favour when the chief came home.

Charmed by her musio, he begged her
blessing, which was granted on con
dition of his setting his prisoner at
liberty.

She took a great interest in young
persons, and delighted to encourage them
in virtue and piety. One day, as she
was standing outside the monastery with
some of her nuns, she saw a young man,
named Nennidh, running very fast,
" Bring that youth to me," commanded
the abbess. He came with apparent
reluctance. " Whither so fast ? " asked
Brigid. Nennidh answered, with a
laugh, that he was running to the king
dom of heaven. "I wish," said Brigid,
" that I were worthy to run there with
you to-day. Pray for me, that I may
arrive there." The young man, touched
by her words, begged her to pray for
him, and resolved to embrace a religious
life. Brigid then foretold that he was-
the person from whom she should receive
the holy viaticum on the day of her
death. He took great pains to keep his
hand worthy of so great an honour, and
was called Nennidh, the clean-handed.
He wrote a hymn in honour of St. Brigid,
preserved in Colgan's Acts of the Saints,
Jan. 1-8. He is numbered among the
saints, but is not the great St. Nonnidh,
surnamed Laobh-deare, the one-eyed, or
squinting.

Many of the stories of the life of St.
Brigid relate to the journeys and excur
sions she used to make in her carriage.
On one of these journeys she saw a poor
family carrying heavy burdens of wood,
and with her usual kindness gave them
her horses. She and her sisters sat
down by the wayside, and she told them
to dig there for water. As soon as they
did so, a fountain sprang from the earth,
and presently a chieftain passed by and
gave his horses to Brigid.

Another time she happened to be alone
in a friend's house when some persons-
came begging for bread. She looked
about for any of the household, but could
see no one except a boy lying on the
ground. He was deaf and paralytic, but
Brigid did not know it. She said to
him, " Boy, thou knowest where the keys
are ? " He said, " Yes, I know." Tho
holy woman then told him to go and

ST. BRIGID

185

serve these poor persons, which he did,
and had his faculties ever after.

In a time of famine she went with
gome of her nuns and asked for provisions
from Bishop Ybar. He had no bread,
so lie set before her a stone with some
lard. The stone became bread, and
Bri.irid ;md the bishop wore satisfied to
make a meal of it, but two of the virgins,
«li siring to eat flesh, hid it, and they
found it turned into serpents. Brigid
rebuked them, and on their repentance
the serpents again became bread.

She had power over wild beasts. Once
when a wolf had killed a sheep-dog, she
made him take the place of his victim,
and drive the sheep without frightening
them.

Cows, calves, milk, and butter figure
largely in the legends of this saint. A
number of strangers arrived at her home,
and as she had nothing to give them but
what she could get from one cow, she
milked it three times, and it gave as
much as three cows. It is in allusion to
this legend that she appears in some
pictures holding a large bowl.

She seems to have shown severity or
inflicted punishment only when the
objects of her anger were guilty of un-
kindness. For instance, when a woman
refused to wash a leper whom Brigid
intended to heal, she transferred the
leprosy to the unkind one, but afterwards
]• rayed for her, and thereby healed her.
day two lepers came begging, and
she gave them a calf One of them said
li<- d'id not want half a calf, and did
not care to have it unless ho might
have it all to himself. Brigid bado
him take the animal, and said to the
other, '• Wait with mo a little while,
ami sic if (iod will send you anything
to make up for your share of the calf."
She procured another calf for him, and
he went and overtook the ungrateful
1< i" r. They so. ni came to a great river,
and the good leper and his calf arrived
iy at the other side, but the thankless
one and his calf were washed away and
drowned.

Her hospitality and charity were un-
bounde.l. The lame of her holiness, her
niirael. s. and her prophetic powers 61-
d to Scotland. It is said that Ki

Xectan, being driven out of Scotland,
went to Ireland, and there visited Brigid,
and asked for her prayers. She promised
that if he went back to his own country
(iod would have mercy upon him, and he
should possess the kingdom of the Picts
in peace.

She was upwards of seventy when she
died. She was buried at Kildare, and
translated to Downpatrick, where she was
laid beside St. Patrick and St. Columba.
It is a mistake to identify her with
ST. BRIGID OF GLASTONBURY or ST.
BRIGID OP ABEKNETHY. Several other
saints of the same name, contemporary
with her, or nearly so, are mentioned by
Colgan. She is honoured in many places
and calendars on the Continent, but is
perhaps not so universally known there
as ST. BKIGID OF SWEDEN.

After her death, the sacred fire, which
she had kept perpetually burning, and
which caused the church of Kildare to
be called the house of tire, was kept up
on her tomb until I'J'Jn, when sundry
accusations of superstition and heathen
ism having arisen against the custom,
Henry London, archbishop of Dublin,
ordered it to bo put out to avert scandal.
It was relighted and kept burning until
the time of Henry VIII., when the nuns
were banished from Kildare, their goods
confiscated, and the churches desecrated.
Her Life was written immediately
after her death by Brogan (called also
Cloen). Another biography of her was
written in the same century, another in
the following, and so on. Five Lives
are given in the Bollandist collection.
li.M Bede, Mart. Colgan, Al.>v
Jlihi'i-niic. Forbes, Kalendars. Monta-
lembert, M>nk8 of the West. Butler.
Cahier.

For other stories of St. Brigid, see
UIMCA i ) ), DAKDITLAGHA, HINNA, LASREA.
St. Brigid ( '^ ) of Abernothy. Bishop
Forbes, ScotM Cdlcndurs, thinks it is
probable there was a Scotch saint oi the
name of Brigid, whoso relics were kept
at Abernethy. The Aberdeen lln-viary,
in the story of ST. M A/...TA, says that St.
UriL'id of Aberuethy was cousin of (ira-
venlus, king of the Picts, who during
his wars with the liritons was admon
ished by supernatural means to send to

136

ST. BRICM)

Ireland for Brigid, and ffllow her
advice. She came with St. Mazota and
eight holy virgins, and settled at Aber-
nethy, and there built a church, where
the king was baptized.

St. Brigid (4) of Benchor, whose
head, in 1 22:>, was brought from Scotland
or Ireland to Denis, king of Portugal,
and kept at Lumiar with great venera
tion, is said to have founded a great
monastery at Benchor. This may have
been Banchory in Scotland, or Bangor
in Wales, or some place in Ireland.
Bollandus could not identify her with
either of the well-known SS. Brigid.
Perhaps she is ST. BRIGID OF ABEII-

NETHY.

St. Brigid (5-11). Colgan, in his
History of tlie Irish Saints, speaks of
twenty-five Brigids, some of whom are
distinguishable from each other, and
some are not. No one but a Celtic
scholar and antiquary could attempt to
disentangle them all, or form an opinion
as to how many Brigids there were, or
which is a duplicate of which. I take
these seven — who are possibly reducible
to four — from Bishop Forbes' article
" Brigida," in Smith and Wace's Diet.

St. Brigid (f>), March 9, of Moin-
miolain. (Perhaps same as 6.)

St. Brigid (6), Sept. 30. Great-
granddaughter of Colla or Colladius,
who gave land to St. Patrick.

St. Brigid (7), May 13, 24, nursed
and converted her infirm husband : after
his death she returned to her father's
house, and built herself a cell.

St. Brigid (S; of Oughterard, co.
Kildare. (Perhaps same as 7.)

St. Brigid O'J of Senboith, or Shaubo,
in Wexford. (Perhaps same as 7.)

St. Brigid (10), March (5. Daughter
of Lenin, one of several saints descended
from the family of St. Foillan. One of
six sisters to whom is dedicated the
" church of the Sisters," at Kill-uaning-
hean, in the district of Ui-Brivin.

St. Brigid ( 1 1 ), sister of St. Sedna,
abbot of Killaine, and of SS. GOUHA
and LASSAKA, all descended from Ere,
the ancestor of the kings of Albanian
Scotia.

St. Brigid (12) Mactail. Oth
century. Daughter of Conchraid, of the

family of Mactail. She had her cell at
Cluan-in-fidi, on the banks of the Shan
non. She made a vestment which she
wished to send to Inniscathy for St.
Senan, who was settled there not earlier
than ,~>:>4. Finding no better mode of
sending it, she wrapped it in hay and
put it in a basket, which she addressed
and set afloat on the river. It is said to
have arrived safely. This anecdote is
related of ST. BKIGID OF KILDAIIE, who
sent her basket, however, by sea, and a
much greater distance. Lanigan, Ecclcs.
Hist, of Ireland, i. 44'.».

St. Brigid ( 1 :> J, March 1 4. An Irish
virgin, brought up at Dunkeld with St.
Cuthbert, by St. Columba. Bishop
Forbes, Scot. CaL

St. Brigid (14), or BIUTTA, Jan. 14.
8th century. Of Beauvais : also called of
Tours and of Nogent ; with her sister
ST. MAURA, July 13, MM. of virginity.
Daughters of the King of the Scots. They
were born in 731, on the day that a long
and desolating famine and pestilence
came to an end. Their mother died in
giving them birth. Maura devoted her
life to fasting and prayer. Brigid
devoted hers to works of mercy. Con
trary to their wishes, the king sought
advantageous alliances for them. While
he was taking measures to bring them to
his way of thinking, he died. They were
now heirs of the kingdom, as their only
brother Hispadius was feeble of body
and unfit to succeed his father. They
renounced their right to the throne, took
their brother with them, and went to
Piome. After they had visited the holy
places, they cast a devil out of Ursinus
their host, who thenceforth became their
devoted servant. They next went to the
territory of Beauvais, where they settled
at Balagny, near Creil. Here they were
attacked by four ruffians, and suffered
much in their own defence. At last the
robbers killed them and their brother,
and Ursinus buried them. After many
years, ST. BATHILDE, queen of France,
had them translated to her new monastery
of Chelles. Colgan, Irish Saints, Jan.
14. French Mart., July 13. Guerin,
Pet Its Soli. (Cf. MAURA. The difier-
enco in dates tends to the conclusion
that the legends are fictitious.)

ST. IIRIGID

187

St. Brigid < 15). Dee. 31, Fab. I. l.'th

century. Irish. Her brother St. Andrew
left liis country to go on a pilgrimage.
When he said farewell to her, ho advised
her to dedicate her life to God. She did
so. Many years passed, and she had long
ceased to expect news of her brother,
when, about the year 84otsho was sitting
at homo preparing her frugal fare, when
an uugol appeared and carried her off to
Fiesole, near Florence. There she found
herself in the presence of St. Andrew,
who lay on his death-bed, surrounded by
his sorrowing monks. He had been for
years Archdeacon of Fiesole, under its
Irish seventh bishop, St. Donatus, and
had restored the monastery of St. Martin.
Donatus was lately dead. Andrew was
ill of fever, and felt that ho had not
many days to live. He greatly longed
to see his sister Brigid before he died,
and in answer to his strong wish, she
had been miraculously brought to him.
Sliu thought she was dreaming, and was
as much amazed and bewildered as the
monks were to see her arrive in their
midst. Andrew said, " Brigid, my be
loved sister, I have longed to see thee
before I die, and because of the great
distance that lay between us I feared
my desire would not be granted. I
trust that here where I have lived, thou,
as a solitary and penitent, wilt dwell,
and by thy prayers and virtues till up the
measure of my shortcomings. Cease
from thy amazement, and pray for me
with all thy soul, for my last hour is at
hand, and my summons has come."
Then Brigid awoke as from a dream, and
wept both for joy and grief; she grieved
to lose him again so soon, but exulted
that he had resisted temptations and
overcome the evil one. She promised
that all the days of life that remained to
her should be dedicated to carrying out
his will, and that she would stay in the
country of his adoption and walk in his
footsteps as far as her weakness allowed.
Then brilliant lights and sweet odours
announced the ascent of the soul of
Andrew, and all the people came and
:;it« il their dead saint. Brigid left
the monastery and s« ttl. -.1 noar the source
«>f the Sioci. hi«jh up in tho Val d'Arno,
where she founded a church in honour

of St. Martin of Tours. After some
years she wont further up the mountain
to a more secluded place in tho thick
woods. Hero she found a cave, where
she led a solitary life of penanco and
prayer, and there she lived to a groat
age. The cave is still shown under
neath the church of the Madonna del
Sasso, high up among the Apennines,
about two miles from Lobaco. In 870
the inhabitants built a church on the
site of her hermitage, and called it
Santa Brigida. Boll., AA.SS. Lanigau.
Stokes, Six Months in the Apennines.

St. Brigid (H>), or BIRGITTA, Feb.
1, V. Sister of St. Henry, Emperor
( • 1 1 „ (2-1024). Abbess of a monastery at
Regensburg, founded by St. Wolfgang.
She is worshipped by the Benedictines
only. AA.SS., Prseter.

St. Brigid (17) of Glastonbury, a
recluse at Glastonbury, whose necklace
and other relics were shown there in
the time of William of Malmesbury
(llth century), and were supposed to
have belonged to ST. BHIGID of Ireland.
Later critics and investigators say this
was another saint, whoso memory is
swallowed up in the fame of her great
namesake.

St. Brigid (18), March 0. 13th
century. Franciscan nun, seen by her
contemporary, ST. AGNES OF BOHEMIA,
among the angels in glory. AA.SS.

St. Brigid ( l i> ) of Sweden, July 2:*,
Oct. s. i:in2 or KK)4-i;J7;J. Commonly
called BKIGHITE, BHIGIDA or BIUGITTE,
BBITTA or BRITA, but her proper name
was BIUGITTA. Dr. Dollinger calls her
" one of the great visionaries of tho 1 4th
century." Founder and patron of the
Order of the Saviour of the World, or
Brigittines, and of the monastery of
Wadstein, tho first of that order.

Represented (1) holding in her hand
a heart surmounted by a crucifix, to
indicate her devotion to tho Passion ;
(2) standing before a cross, holding a
candle, in allusion to her custom not to
let Friday pass without undergoing some
suffering in honour of Christ : if no
other opportunity for suffering occurred,
she dropped burning wax on her flesh ;
(:J) stigmata in tho air near her, to
denote revelations which she had on the

138

ST. BRIGID

subject ; (4) writing in a bool^ an angel
dictating to her.

In the Norwegian calendars of the
i:>th century a house is the emblem of
her day, in allusion to the monastery
she founded ; sometimes the day is
marked, instead, by two heather-bushes,
because on this day, Oct. 8, the bear is
supposed to begin to prepare his lair for
the winter by gathering ling.

Brigid was daughter of Birger Person
Brahe, a devout warrior, who fought
against the Russians and made a pilgrim
age to Jerusalem. Her mother was
Ingeborg, of the great family of Fol-
kunga, who gave Sweden her first kings.
Shortly before the birth of Brigid, her
mother was at sea in a frightful storm
when many persons were drowned. The
following night she was told in a dream
that she was saved from shipwreck on
account of the predestined sanctity of
her unborn daughter. She died soon
after the birth of her child. Brigid was
three years old before she began to
speak, and then she surprised her family
by uttering quite distinctly words of
prayer and praise. Sometimes she got
up to pray while the other girls in her
room were asleep. On one of these
occasions the aunt, who had charge of
them, quietly fetched a cane to whip her.
She no sooner held it over the back of
the young saint than it fell into small
pieces. At thirteen she married Fulk
or Wulf, prince or layman of Nericia,
who was eighteen. They joined the
Third Order of St. Francis, and passed
the-jfirsi- year of their married life in
holy. virginity. They devoted much of
their property, time, and energy to works
of religion and charity, turning their
house into a sort of hospital, where they
tended the sick. About 1 :-J4rt they took
their eight children on a pilgrimage to
St. James of Compostella, in Spain. On
their return journey, AVulf was taken ill
at Arras. He received the last sacra
ments, but Brigid continued to pray for
his recovery. St. Denis appeared to her
in a dream, and foretold many events ;
and as a pledge of their truth, said that
Wulf should recover immediately ; which
he did. Whenjthey reached Sweden he
retired, with Brigid's approbation, into

the Cistercian monastery of Alvastro,
where he very soon died. From that
time she led a life of austerity and
devotion, eating with the poor in the
hospitals, and begging with them about
the streets, denying herself the use of
linen, and wearing a cilicium.

It was about KJ44, soon after the
death of her husband, that she founded
the monastery of Wadstein, on the
beautiful shore of Lake Wettern, in the
diocese of Lincopen. It was the first i
house of her Order of the Saviour of the
World, since called that of the Brigittines. \
It was a branch of the Order of St.
Augustine, and was instituted expressly
for women ; men were never to be admitted,
except to minister to the spiritual wants
of the nuns; the abbess ruled over the
monks in all temporal matters. The
rule she gave contains the most minute
directions, not only for the conduct of
the members of the order, but concerning
their dress and the furniture of the house
and church. The number of nuns in
each monastery was fixed at sixty, that
of the priests at thirteen, in honour of
the twelve apostles and St. Paul. There
were to be eight lay brothers and four
deacons, representing the four doctors
of the Church (SS. Jerome, Ambrose,
Augustine, and Gregory) ; in all, eighty-
five, the number of the thirteen apostles
and seventy-two disciples of Christ.

While she was protesting against tho
wickedness of the time, against the
abuses in the Church, and the conduct
of her cousin, King Magnus Srnek, and
prophesying that God's judgments would
fall upon the land, the Black Death
came from England in a ship. Before
the ship was unloaded, every man who-
had come in it was dead, and the con
tagion had made many other victims.
It spread over the country, and killed a
third of the population, laying waste
whole districts, so that many churches
were unused and forgotten, and in the
next generation people discovered them
in unsuspected places, where the woods
had grown up around them and hidden
them.

St. Brigid never took the veil, because
the rule of the order would have pre
vented the pilgrimages she believed God

SS. BRITTA AND MAT MA

139

required her to make. She went to
Rome, and obtained the confirmation of
her order by Urban V. in i:*7<>. After
visiting Naples and Sicily, she was in
spired to go to Jerusalem, although,
being in her seventieth year, she had
some misgivings about her infirmities.
Her son Charles, father of the younger

Si. UKKJID "K S\VK1)K\, Set Off With llCT,

but (lied at an early stage of the journey.
She was comforted by a revelation of
his having entered into eternal bliss.
Her daughter, St. Catherine of Sweden,
and her son Birger, went with her to
Jerusalem. She was taken ill on the
return journey, and died in l:57.'i, soon
after her arrival in Rome.

It is recorded that she was never
known to be angry or jealous. She
caused the Scriptures to bo translated
into her native language.

She had four sous and four daughters,
one of whom was Abbess of Wadstein ;
another daughter, Mareta, was tho
mother of Ingrid, abbess of Wadstein.
There is extant a volume of tho ll>r>-
Itittitii* <•/ St. Br/'tjid, presented by her
dau.u'hti-r St. Catherine to Pope Gregory
XI., who commissioned three learned
cardinals to examine them ; they found
in tin in nothing contrary to the Catholic
faith. Her denunciations of the abuses rf
of the time in high places were some- f
what like those of St. Hildegard, but I
much more explicit. A coarse sort of)
guipure lace, made in Sweden, is said
to have been introduced by St. Brigid,
who learned the art on her pilgrimages,
and taught it to her nuns.

The tomb of Brigid's father and
mother is still shown in the cathedral
of Upsala. Their recumbent statues lie
on a slab, a lion at his feet and a dog
at hers ; their seven children are repre
sented on tho border of the tomb. Two
•beets of her handwriting are shown in
the Library at Stockholm.

11' r canonization was begun by Boni-
fuc«- I X.. and was completed by Martin V.,
in I ll<>.

/.'..I/., Oct. 8. Fant and Annerstedt,
/,' im Stu'cicarum, iii. Hclyot, Hint.
Oi-il. M,,,.. part iii. chap. -J. Bull. r.
Bailht. .M'^M^uy. Duffy. Mrs. Jame
son. (Jeijar, // '. •/ ftpftA //, i. L".'<i5 etc.

Karamsin, 7 fist. <!<• Rnssir, iv. :>LV
Report of tho Cambridge Antiquarian
Society, Oct., 1H7H. A very interesting
book, Tin- ..")//>/•"»//• <>f ""/• A'/'/.y, edited
for tho Early English Text Society, by
Miss Toulmin Smith, and written for
the monastery of St. Saviour and St.
Brigid at Isleworth, near Twickenham,
gives some particulars of her life, and
an account of the establishment, in 140»>,
of this first Brigittine monastery in
England. Paul du Chaillu, Land of the
Miiiniijlit Sun, ii. p. :J:J:>, etc., gives a
charming description of the country
where Wadstein is situated, and some-
legends collected from tho people of the
district.

St. Brigid (20) the Younger, of
Sweden, V. f 1:*IW. Granddaughter
of ST. BHIGID OF SWEDEN, being the
daughter of her son Charles, who died
on pilgrimage. The younger Brigid
was brought up in the convent of Vreta,
on the Wettern Lake. When she was
seven, her grandmother appeared to her
and predicted her death. She made her
last confession, and, although it was
January, she begged persistently for
strawberries, and, by a revelation from
St. Brigid, some were found under the
snow, on a hill near tho convent. She
was buried at her grandmother's mon
astery of Wadstein. Vastovius, Viti»

B. Brigid ('21 ) of Holland. :;rd
O.S.D. Supposed 14th century. She
was so full of love to God that He
adorned her with tho stigmata. Pio,
Uomiiii <• tl"nn<; p. .">ni;. Choquet, Smicti
ll'I'/i, O.S.D., chap. xxv.

Brigidona and Mary, Muy r., MM.
AA.SS., Prseter. MS. Calendar of Tam-
laght.

St. Briid, BHIGID (2).

B. Briolaya, Oct. 28, V. t c. 1500.
Cistercian nun at Ebora, in Portugal.
Remarkable for silence. She is praised
by several hagiologists, but has no-
authorized worship. Arturus calls h«-r
" Saint." Bucelinus calls her " Jilessed."
Boll., AA.SS., Preeter.

St. Brita, BHICH. ( i

St. Brites, BKATKK i:.

SS. Britta ( I ) and Maura, July :t.
II"Tionrod at Tours. tf<r liuitiin i 14).

140

ST. BRITTA

St. Britta (2 ), or Brita. BRIGID (19)
of Sweden is so called in Dalecarlia

St. Brittifa, UIIKTTFVA.

St. Bronacha, or BKOXANA, April 2.
Abbess of Glensechis, in Ireland. Butler.

St. Bronfinnia, UANFINNIA.

B. Bronislavia. i:-ith century. A
relation of St. Hyacinth, O.S.D., a canon
of Cracow. In 1 857 the six hundredth
anniversary of St. Hyacinth was cele
brated with an eight days' festival,
special indulgences being granted in
connection with it by Pius IX. On this
occasion the picture of the Blessed
Bronislavia was carried in procession in
the church of the Dominicans. Her
relics repose in the church of the canon-
esses of St. Norbert. CivUta CattoUca,
Nov., 1857.

St. Broteva, BRETTIVA.

St. Bruinech, BUKIAN.

St. Bruna, ALDA.

St. Bruncecha, or BRUNECH, May
2i>, V. Ancient Irish. Either ST.
MOCHUA, daughter of Crimthan, or her
sister. AA.SS., Prseter.

St. Brussia. Once worshipped in
Attica.

St. Bryde, BRIGID (2).

St. Brykke, BRETTIVA.

St. Bublasa, June 1, M. with ST.

UCEGA.

St. Bucella, or LUCELLA, May 10, M.
an Africa. AA.SS.

St. Bugga (1), ETHELBURGA.

B. Bugga ( 2), EDBURGA (5).

B. Bullona, MARGARET AGULLONE.

St. Bunette, patron of a church in
Berry. Mas Latrie, Tresor.

St. Buolaie, patron of a church in the
diocese of Lu^on. P.B. Migne. Stadler.

B. Burgunda, July 8. A noble

matron at Wurtzburg, in Franconia.
There is no authority for her worship,
although Arturus calls her Blessed. She
is mentioned in the Arts of St. Kiltan.
He was an Irish monk, who, with SS.
Coloman, or Colonatus, and Totnan, went
to preach the Christian religion in Fran
conia. They converted the duke, anil
made him put away his wife Geilana,
who had been his brother's widow. She
was so angry that, during the absence of
the duke, she had the three missionaries
murdered and their bodies concealed.
Burgunda, who lived near the oratory of
the three monks, knew what had hap
pened, but did not dare to reveal it.
She told it, however, before she died.
Meantime, first the executioners and then
the duchess were seized by the devil and
died in torments, calling out the names
of their victims. AA.SS., Prsetcr.

St. Burgundofora is mentioned in
the Roman Martyrohgy, April 3, as an
abbess in England, and in Guerin's
Dictionnaire Hogiographiqut, Jan.,'). Pro
bably ST. FARA is meant. So many
English ladies attained great perfection
under her rule, that she was doubtless
highly venerated in England.

St. Burian, May 1, 29, June 4, 19
(BERIONA, BRUINECH, BURIENA). 6th
century. One of the Irish saints who,
like BRIDGET, ITA, and BRIGA, set up
great schools for girls. This soon raised
the status of women, which until then
was very low. She migrated to Corn
wall, and settled near the Land's End.
Athelstane founded a collegiate church
in her honour. Smith and "W ace. Baring-
Gould, Book of the. West. Wilson, Eng
lish Mart. AA.SS. Brit. Sancta.

Buriena, BURIAX.

c

St. Cacola, GAKU.A.

St. Cacra, CKCRA.

St. Gael, Oct. 26, V. Sister of
DAKHELIN.

St. Caentigern, KENTIGERNA.

St. Caesaria, or C^SAKIUS. (See
CARMILLA. i

St. Caia, or CAJA, Jan. 19, M. in

Africa, with more than six hundred others.
AA.SS.

St. Caila, PIALA.

St. Cain. First half of 6th century.
Patron of Llangain, Caermartheushire.
Daughter of ST. CAW. Sister of SS.

GWENAFWY, CWYLLOO, PEILLAN, and

PEITHIKN. Rees, 228.

ST. CALLISTIIKM:

141

St. Cainder, or KKXNKKK, Nov. :-.
daughter of Caelan of Rinnh Allaid.
Irish. Forbes. K<i/< n<l<tr*.

St. Cainner,' or KKNNKKK, Jan. 28,
Daughter of ('ruithnechan, worshipped
at Kilcnllen, Kildare. Forbes, Kalen-
• Kennere," from Colgan.

Caintigerna, KEXTIGEKXA.

St. Caiola, GAIOLA.

St. Cairecha, KAIKECHA.

St. Calamanda, or CALAMANDHA,
5, V. of Catalonia, M. Represented
holding a palm-branch, in a picture in
the church of St. James at Calaffum,
where an altar was dedicated to her.
Sin is invoked with success when rain
is wanted. Some authors suppose her
to have been a companion of ST. UKSULA.
Henschenius, in AA.SS.

St. Calamandra, CALAMANDA.

Ven.Calefaie,orCALEFAGiA. Teacher
of St. Ausonius, first bishop of Angou-
leme. (iuerin.

St. Calis. " (Sec CHAKIESSA.)

St. Calista, Jan. ID, M. in Africa,
witli more than six hundred others.
AA.SS.

St. Callinica (1), or CALLINICCS,
March 22. "f c. 2,">2. In the reign of
the Emperor Decius, ST. BASILISSA (2),
a rich woman of Galatia, employed
Callinica to carry gifts of money, food,
and other necessaries to the imprisoned
Christians ; at the same time, she used
t«» entreat them to pray that her faith
and courage might not fail in time of
mid. One day Callinica was caught
ministering to the prisoners. Her exami
nation and confession led to the arrest
<>f Hasilissa. Both avowing their belief
in Christ, and steadfastly refusing to
sa.-rilice to the idols, were tortured and
beheaded. In some of the old calendars
they are called two holy women ; in
others, Calliuicus is called a man. Other
accounts place them in the reign of
Trajan, and descri1>e them as two of the
five companions of his daughter 13 KOZKLLA,
"i 1' Another account says they

were companions of St. Beryllus, a native
of Antioch, appointed first Bishop of
C.itiinia, in Sicily, by St. Peter the
apostle. l;.M. j.l.»

St. Callinica i ii;. (8* Ni« I:TA.)

St. Calliope Lerama, June 8,V. M.

Represented with a hot iron held to her
breast. She is honoured in the Greek
Church, and believed to have been put
to death with tortures of peculiar atrocity
in the reign of the Emperor Decius.
The Spanish hagiologists say her martyr
dom took place in the reign of Nero and
at the town of Triboraci, called in her
honour Lerma. There is a great deal
more about her in Salazar which Hen
schenius leaves to those who are greedy
of such inventions. R.M.,AA.SS. Callot.
Husenbeth.

SS. Callista (1 ) and Christa, Feb.
.">, MM. They were hired to induce ST.
DOKOTHY (1) to follow their example*
and apostatize. They not only failed to-
pervert her, but were influenced by her
to repent and return to the true religion,
and were martyred by being plunged
into a boiling caldron. They are com
memorated with SS. Dorothy and Theo-
philus. Legend says they were sisters
of Dorothy, but Tillemont does not
mention this. Tillemont, v. 498.

St. Callista (2), with her brothers,
SS. Kvodius and Hermogenes, April 25,
Sept. 2, M. c. :3<>4. She encouraged
them to endure martyrdom at Syracuse.
B.M.

St. Callisthene, Oct. 4. 4th century.
Lived at Ephesus with her father, St.
Audactus, a Christian dnke. She un
wittingly attracted the admiration of
Maximianus (afterwards Emperor). As
he was a monster of wickedness, Audac
tus sent her out of the way. Maximianus
revenged himself for her disappearance
by confiscating the goods of the family,
and banishing them to a neighbouring
province. There the local authorities
were ordered to compel Audactus to
sacrifice to the gods, and, as ho resisted,
ho was beheaded. Callisthene, to escapo
from further persecution, cut off her hair
and dressed herself as a man, and under
this disguise lived for several years at
Nicomedia. During this time she appears
to have maintained herself by the prac
tice of medicine. Wo next hear of her
in Thrace, attending a girl who had a
disease of the eyes and was threatened
with blindness. She recovered, and her
grateful parents were so pleased with
their young doctor that they proposed

142

ST. CALLODATA

to marry him to tboir daughter. Cal-
listhene then confided her story to them,
and she seems to have remained with
them until she heard of the death of
Maximianus. The same year an edict
was published in favour of the Chris
tians, and Licinius succeeded to the
power and dignities of his colleague and
rival. ( 'allisthene applied to Constantia,
the Christian empress, who received her
into her house, placed her children under
her care, and persuaded Licinius to
restore the property of Audactus to his
-daughter. She next obtained permission
to remove her father's body from the
place of his martyrdom to Ephesus, where
she lived righteously, and died in peace.
The father and daughter are honoured
together. Menology of Basil. AA.SS.
Smith and Wace. Mas Latrie.

St. Callodata, CALODATA.

SS. Callwen and Gwenfyl, Nov. 1 .
^)th century. Commemorated at Defynog
and Llanddewi Brefe. Descendants of
Brychan. See ALMHEDA. Baring-Gould.
Rees.

St. Calodota, or Callodata, Sept. <>.
M. c. 2f>0, at Alexandria, with THECLA,
ANDROPELAGIA, and several others. Wife
of one Cyrus. AA.SS.

St. Calonica, May ID, M. Buried in
the catacomb of Calixtus, Via Appia,
Rome. AA.SS.

St. Calpurnia ( 1 ), June 2. One of
the 227 Roman martyrs commemorated
together in the Mart t/r<>lo</i/ of St. Jerome.
AA.SS.

St. Calpurnia ( 2 ), commonly called

.1 i«»M ANA OF TODI.

St. Calricia, May r> ( CAKICA, CARICIA,
•CAUISIA, (2)), M. at Milan, supposed
under Maximian. AA.SS.

St. Cama, June 4, M. in Cilicia, or
Sicily. AA.SS.

St. Camela, Sept. IT. (('AMKLIA, CA-
MKLLA, CAMILLA i, V. Specially honoured
at Toulouse, and in the diocese of Mire-
poix, in Aquitaine, where a church and
village bear her name. Supposed to
have been martyred by the Albigeois
heretics, or to have lived earlier than
that time — perhaps Hth or Dth century.
Stilting, in AA.SS. Mas Latrie. Guerin
calls her CAMILLA or CAMILIE, a Cister
cian at Carcasonne.

St. Camilla M », March 3, V.
•(• 4:57. Disciple of St. Germanus. SS.
Camilla, MAGNKNTIA, PALLADIA, MAXIMA,
and PORCARIA accompanied the body of
their master on its journey from Ravenna
to Auxerre, in France ; but, overcome
by the fatigues and difficulties of tho
way, Camilla, Magnentia, and Palladia
died, at different places, before its arrival
at Auxerre. Palladia's death took place
at Ste. Palaye, so called in her honour.
Camilla was buried at Ecoulives. Her
body and that of Palladia were burned
by the Calvinists. Maxima built a
church over tho tomb of St. Germanus,
and was buried there herself. Porcaria
was buried in another church dedicated
in her honour, about nine miles from the
town. It is uncertain whether these
four saints were sisters or only fellow-
disciples. Camilla is mentioned with
St. Germanus in the Viola Sanctorum,
and in a MS. Life of St. Maynriitid,
quoted in AA.SS.

St. Camilla (2), CAMELA.

B. Camilla ( •> ), LUCY BAHTOLIXI Ru-
CELLAI.

St. Camilla ( 4 ), BAPTIST A VARAXI.

B. Camilla- Pia, March 31, O.S.F.
Founder, in 1504, of a convent of Claris-
san nuns at Carpi, near Modena, in Italy.
P.B.

St. Camiona, or CANNIONA, one of
the twelve companions of ST. BENEDICTA
(7). Honoured at Le Mensil-Saint-
Laurent, near Origny.

St. Candedia, May 1 0, M. at Tarsus,
in Cilicia. AA.SS.

St. Candia, CANDIDA (11).

St. Candida (1) the Elder, Sept. 3.
1 st century. Patron of Naples. When
St. Peter, the apostle, was on his way to
Rome, after he had founded the Church
in Antioch, he passed through Naples,
where he was kindly received by an old
widow named Candida. When he spoke
to her of the Christian faith, she said she
would believe in his God if he could
cure her of excessive pains in her head,
from which she had suffered for many
years. He cured her and instructed and
baptized her. She then besought his
aid for a good old man who was helpless
and suffering much from a grievous
disease. St. Peter gave her his staff, and

ST. CANDIDA

1!:;

bade her go and touch her friend with it
in the name of Christ. She cured her
friend, and the staff was long preserve*!
in the church at Naples. R.M. A.[.SS.
St. Candida (2), Dec. 1. 1st cen
tury. M. at Rome, in the time of Trajan,
with Lucius her husband, Rogatus and
Cassiau. Candida,Lucius,SergiusPaulus,
and many others were converted by St.
Paul at Paphos, in Cyprus. Jt.M.

St. Candida en, June <;. M. with
her husband, St. Artemins, a jailor, and
their daughter, ST. PAULINA ( t> ), in the
Diocletian persecution, at the end of the
;ird or beginning of the 4th century.
Paulina was vexed with a devil. B.
Peter, a prisoner in the custody of Ar-
tcniius, healed her by his prayers, and
was thus the means of converting Arte-
mius, Candida, and their daughter. They
with all their house and many others —
at least three hundred men, besides women
— were baptized by 1J. Marcellinus, a pres
byter. When the judge Serenus heard
this, and Artemius refused to sacrifice to
idols, he ordered him with his wife and
daughter to bo buried under a mighty
pile of stones. As they were being led
to the place, so many Christians met
them that the murderers fled affrighted,
only to bo pursued, caught, and detained
as prisoners until Marcellinus had cele
brated Mass in the crypt where the
saints were to suffer. Marcellinus said
to, them, " Lo, we had it in our power
to injure you, and to take away from
you Artemius and his daughter ; but this
we have not done. What say you to
this ? " Gnashing with their teeth upon
the mm of God, they slew Artemius
with tho sword ; Candida and Paulina
lh<y cast headlong from the crypt —
probably :i cave — and overwhelmed them
wit: Another account says

- into tho crypt," and udds that Artciniii*
ben with "lead-weighted thongs."
The (•.•ninifin. .ration of St. Artemius is
piv-cribL-d in the I'.n.-viary of Tours,
I !'•:!''». It.M. .1.1. NX., from a vi-ry
iiiM-i--iit 3I>. In -longing t • the church i»f
aviour at

St. Candida (4j, Sep. 20, V. M.
sic.-t.r.ling to tin- IinnKin Martyrdlogy, at
Curtilage, under Maximian, but claimed

by tho Church of Carthagena, in Spain, as
a martyr there. Patron, with ST. CIIAKI-
TIN \ i ! >, of ( 'arthagena.

St. Candida (•">), Aug. !".», V. M.
whose body was translated by Pope
Pascal I. (SM-S24) into the church of
St. Praxedis at Rome. H.M. This is,
purhaps, tho same as CANDIDA (4).

St. Candida (<>), Jan. 7, M. in Greece.
AA.SS.

St. Candida (7), Jan. 7. AA.SS.

St. Candida (*), Sept. 28, M. in
Africa. AA.S*.

St. Candida (i»), Aug. :n. 4th
century. Lived in Rome with her
intimate friend, ST. MAKCELLINA (1), and
followed her to Milan. Candida was
buried in the basilica of St. Ambrose,
and has been venerated with the title of
" Saint f> ever since the !Hh century.
Her portrait in mosaic is in the choir
with those of Marcellina and Satyrus.
Her name is in the oldest manuscript of
the Litany used on Rogation days. In
very ancient times she was included in
the Catalogue of Milanese Saints, and
honoured by a special service on Aug.
.'11. Lady Herbert, Marcellina.

St. Candida ( 1 0), wife of a general
named Trajan. She and her daughter,
a holy virgin, who predeceased her, were
much given to manual labour, because
Candida said that fasting was not enough
to keep tho devil out, hard work also
was necessary. ST. GKLASIA was a
disciple of Candida. PaUadii Lausiaca.

St. Candida (1 l),or CAXDIA, Oct. 22,
V. M. Native of Tortosa, in Spain.
Companion of ST. URSULA. AA.SX.

St. Candida (12) the Younger,
Sept. 4, Of Naples, f .">HU. A very
pious woman, who loved God better than
her husband and only son. She died
before them and was buried in the
cl nirch of St. Andrew, in a place called
Ail Nidum, in or near Naples. Some
time afterwards a miraculous liquid
flowed from her tomb, and was found
to bo a euro for various diseases. ll.M.
J.I. NX.

St. Candida ( 1 -'5), Jan. L'7. Towards
tho end of tho sth century. Worshipped
at the monastery of I Janoles and village of
Gujalbrs. iirnr Gerona, in >pain. Wife
of a devout nobleman nam-.-d I'.andilo.

144

B. CANDIDA

To their regret, they had n« children.
At last God told them that they should
have a son, who would be one of His
great servants. When he was born they
called him Emerius.

The Christians in the north of Spain,
being oppressed by the Moors, sent to
ask help of Charles, king of France. (It
is uncertain whether it was Charles
Martel or his grandson Charlemagne.)
They lost many battles, and their resist
ance ceased. After some years it was
revealed to the king that the time had
come for him to renew the war against
the Moors, and that Emerius, who was
then a hermit, was destined to help him.
The king accordingly took him for his
guide. During this campaign, Emerius
procured bread for hungry Christians
and restored to life those who died of
famine. The king besieged the city of
Querquens for seven years, and then he
resolved to raise the siege and go
into Catalonia. As he began to draw off
his army, Emerius cried out, " 0 king,
come to Querquenssoua." He returned
and took the city, and it was called
Carcassonne. Then he went into Cata
lonia, to a marshy place called Balneoli,
infested by a lion, the terror of the
people. Emerius caught it by pouring
holy water on it. He built a church
and monastery on the place, and dedicated
them in the name of St. Stephen. The
king and army did not want to part with
him ; but as he was determined to leave
all secular concerns, they made him
abbot, to establish the Benedictine rule
there. Some time after, Candida having
become a widow, went in search of her
son, and found him in the island of
Fargat. Great was the joy of both, but
after a few days Emerius realized that
the delight of his mother's society was
winning his heart back to earth, and as
he had decided to give it all to God, he
requested her to go and leave him. She
said, " Oh, my son, we have had so little
happiness and comfort together : let me.
stay with you and serve God and lead a
life of poverty." He said it could not
be, but he would send her away only as
far as he could throw his stick. She
consented, thinking it would bo only a
few yards ; but he threw it a very long

way. She kept her promise and took up
her abode in the place he had assigned
to her, and there she ended her days.
AA.SS. Bucelinus, M<n. Ben.

B. Candida (14), BLANCHE, queen of
France.

St. Canna, Oct. 2:>. (3th century.
Native of Bretagne. Wife, first, of St.
Sadwrn, also a Breton, and by him
mother of St. Crallo. She migrated to
Wales with her first husband, and there,
secondly, she married Gallgu Rieddog,
and was by him mother of St. Elian
Geimad. Elian is in Latin Hilarius.
Sadwrn was nephew of Canna's great-
uncle, St. Germain of Auxcrrc. They
were related to many Welsh and Armo-
rican saints. They give names to several
places in Wales. AA.SS. Rees, Welsh
Saints, p. 222, says she founded Llan-
ganna, in Glamorgan, and Llangan in
Caermarthen.

St. Cannera, or CAXXEBIA, Jan. 28,
V. Oth century. A native of Bentraig,
near Bantry Bay. Her kinsman, St.
Senan, founded and ruled a small com
munity of monks in Scattery, near the
mouth of the Shannon. One of his most
important rules was that no woman
should enter that island. Cannera, how
ever, was determined to be buried there,
and to receive the last sacrament from the
hands of Senan. Guided there by an angel
or by a vision, she begged him to allow
her to land. He positively refused to let
her set foot on the place consecrated to-
the use of his community. He told her
to go to his mother COMGELLA (2), who-
lived near. Cannera said she had taken
this long journey on purpose to have a
perpetual resting-place in his island;
that Christ suffered for both sexes, and
opened the gate of heaven to women as
well as to men ; and that the apostles
suffered women to minister to them, and
did not disdain their hospitality or
society. After a great deal of argument,
she said she would only ask that in her
life she should receive the Holy Com
munion, and in death as much earth on
the shore as would cover her. Senan
contended that the sea would wash away
her grave. She said it would not. At
last he consented. He gave her the
holy viaticum, and she immediately died

SS. CAPITOL1XA AND BROTHELS

145

and was buried ou the coast of Scattery,
Ami not only do the waves never encroach
on her grave, but navigators in danger
ii.-ar Ireland invoke her assistance with
success. Lauigan. Colgan. AAJ3S.
lil\" ,-tn'fe. Dr. Led wick considers
- . i nus to be the personification of the
river Shannon.

St. Canniona, CAMION A.

St. Cansiona, patron of a church
mentioned by Innocent III.

St. Cantia, Nov. 2o, V.M. Honoured
at Toscanella, in Tuscany. Ferrarius,
^ 'atciloffus.

St. Cantiana (1), June l.">, M. at
Lucania, honoured with St. Vitus. (See
BNTIA ( l;.) AA.SS.

St. Cantiana (2), CAXTIAXILLA (1).

St. Cantianilla ( 1) or CAXTIAN A 2 .
May :il, M. .'i<>4. She and her brothers
<'antius and Cantianus, with their gover
nor St. Protus, are commonly called the
C'antian Martyrs. They were related to
the Emperor Carinus, and were of the
noble Koman family of the Anicii, as
illustrious for having given several
martyrs and confessors of both sexes to
the Church as for having given consuls
and Kmperors to Rome. They were
brought up in the Christian faith, and
when the persecution began, under Dio
cletian and Maximian, they sold their
property in Rome, liberated their slaves,
distributed their money to the poor, and
went to Aquileia, in Istria, where they
had other estates. They were accom
panied by Protus, their faithful friend
and adviser. The persecuting edict
arrived before them at Aquileia, and
when they got there, hoping to see their
iri'-nd, the venerable priest St. Chryso-
gonus, he had already been put to death
a month before by the enemies of tho
t'hnrch. Next day they went to visit
th«- ( 'hristians who were in prison. Their
conduct was soon reported totheEmper«>r,
who sent orders for their arrest. They
\-inil. -in in a chariot drawn by mules,
intending to conceal themselves at tho
tomb of St. Chrysogouus, at Aqii.-i-
latro, a village, now called San
< 'antiano, four miles from Aquileia ; but
one of their mules falling lame by tin-
way, they were overtaken, and as they
utterly refused to obey the Kmp.-ror's

command and renounce their religion,
they were at once beheaded. They tie
mentioned in a sermon attributed to St.
Ambrose, and in some old martyrologies.
l!;iillet esteems their story to be true,
although the Acts published by the Bol-
landists are not genuine. It.M. Hen-
schenius, in AA.88. Butler.

St. Cantianilla (2;, June i;>, M. in
Uarbary. Guerin.

St. Cantide, or CAXTIS, Aug. 5.
Guerin.

St. Cantionilla, QI-IXTIAXILLA.

St. Cantis, CANTIDE.

SS. Capitolina and Erotheis or
EBOTIS, her maid, Oct. 27, MM. 304, in
Cappadocia, under Diocletian. Capito
lina was a woman of high rank in Cap
padocia. When brought to trial as a
Christian, she was asked her name,
country, and parentage. She answered,
** I am a Christian, my country is tho
heavenly Jerusalem, my parents are the
teachers of Christianity, and chiefly the
great Firmilianus, bishop of Cwsarea in
Cappadocia." When she had resisted
all the persuasions and threats used by
Zolicinthius, tho judge, to induce her to
renounce her faith and worship the gods
— particularly Serapis — she was sent to
prison. A person who had been present
at the trial ran to her house and told
her maid Erotis, who was baking, and
was just going to put loaves in the oven.
She left her work, and ran to tho prison
and kissed the fetters that bound her
mistress; she congratulated her on tho
prospect of martyrdom, and begged her
to pray that her maid also might be
found worthy to share her fate. Capito
lina told her not to fear, but bo present
on the morrow and witness her execution.
Erotis went home, finished her cooking,
and took the bread to tho prison. Capi
tolina bade her give it to the poor, and
then sell all her mistress's things and
distribute tho money to tho poor. Erotis
obeyed the order, and next day, when
Capitolina was brought before the judge,
ht-r zealous servant assailed him with
stones and abuse. When she had seen
hi-r mistress transfixed with a sword,
was asked how a person of her mean
station could dare to behave in this
manner. She replied by reviling tho

146

ST. CAPPA

judge and his gods ; and wfcs put to
horrible tortures, under which she ceased
not to thank God. Her wounds were
miraculously healed, and she came un-
scorched out of a furnace into which she
was cast. At length she was beheaded,
the day after St. Capitolina. E.M. J/"<-
Basil. AA.SS.

St. Cappa, Feb. 2, M. with CASTULA
(VI) and many others, at Rome, supposed
nnder Diocletian. AA.SS., Mart. St.
Jerome.

St. Captiva, NINO.

St. Carecha, Feb. 9. f 578. Abbess
of a nunnery in Gal way or Roseommon.
She was of the illustrious house of the
princes of Orgiel. Sister of ST. FANCHEA,
also of Enna, or Enda, founder and abbot
of a monastery at Arran-of-the-Saints, in
the bay of Galway, where St. Brendan
of Clonfert spent three days with him
before setting sail on his famous voyage
in search of the Earthly Paradise. This
Enna was the son of Caial of Clogher,
and grandson of Damen, and his mother
is said to have been Dairine, a sister of
King Aengus. Lanigan.

St. Careme, CARISSIMA.

St. Caria. (See ACRABONIA and

ASKAMA.)

St. Carica, CALRICIA.

Caricia, CALRICIA.

St. Cariesse, CHARIESSA.

St. Carina, CASINA.

St. Carinia, March 6, M. at Nicopo-
lis. Guerin.

St. Caris, CHARIS.

St. Carisia ( 1), or CHARISIA, March 1 ,
M. Guerin. »'

St. Carisia (2), CALRICIA.

St. Carissa, June li>, V. M. One of
the companions of ST. URSULA. Trans
lated from Cologne to Viconia, in Hain-
ault, June 10, 1157. AA.SS., Prseter.

St. Carissima, or CHAiussiMA,Sept. 7,
Oct. 11, V. (3th or 7th century. Called
in French CHRKME, or CAUEME. Honoured
in the diocese of Albi. According to
local legend, she was of noble birth,
persecuted by her parents to marry
Hugolino of Chateau Vieux. Having a
vow to the contrary, she fled and con
cealed herself in a wood for three years,
her hiding-place being known only to
her nurse, who brought her bread. She

raised the nurse's child from the dead,
and, fearing the miracle would cause her
to be discovered, she crossed the Tarn,
and, after wandering long in desert
places, she met St. Eugenius, bishop of
Carthage, then an exile. He founded a
monastery at Vieux, on the Vere, and
seven years afterwards buried her in it.
The monastery of Yieux is proved not
to have been founded by Eugenius,
bishop of Carthage, which casts doubt
on the story. Carissima's translation is-
celebrated at Albi with that of St. Eugene
and other martyrs, on Oct. 11. Stilting,
in AA.SS. F.M.

St. Carita, April 1:1, M. AA.SS.

St. Caritaine, or CHARITANA, June
12, M. at Rome. Mas Latrie.

St. Caritas. ( See FAITH, HOPE, and
CHARITY.)

SS. Carmilla and Caesaria, or
C-ESARIUS, March 2:5. Mentioned in the
account of SS. Paul and Julian, MM.,
but it is unknown whether they are the
names of persons or of places. Paul
and Julian are supposed to have suffered
under the Vandals, but no particulars
are known. AA.SS., Prseter.

St. Carmimdica, Sept. in or 12
(BONA (1), MUNDIOOUDA), V. Recluse
in Egypt. AA.SS., Prseter.

B. Carola, one of the nine sisters of
ST. RAIXFREDE.

St. Carpia, May 27, M. in Africa.
AAJS8.

St. Carra, Jnne 1, M. with ST.
AVCKGA.

St. Casaira, Jan. 25, V. (See ELVIRA.)

St. Casaria 0), Dec. 8 (CAZARIE,
CESARIA (4)). f 5Si'>. Wife of St.
Valens. They made a vow of virginity
on the day of their marriage, distributed
their goods to tho poor, and led an ascetic
life in the place where afterwards stood
the Benedictine abbey of St. Andrew of
Villeneuve, near Avignon. The clergy
and people of Avignon chose Valens for
their bishop. Ho buried Casaria in a
little chapel on the hill of Audaon. He
died, aged eighty, about 5!> 1 . P.B. Her
head, when placed on that of a sick
person, eases pain. F.M. Martin.

St. Casaria < 2 ), May 1 < >, V. M. Her
worship was ordered in the Frislarian Di
rectory in 1»>70. Her body was supposed

ST. CASILLA

it:

by 1 rensclicnius to bo then recently found
in one of the Ivoman cemeteries. I for
history was unknown to him. . !.!.> V

St. Casdia, CABDOA.

St. Casdoa, Sept. L';* (CAfflpiA,
CASIHIK i. Wife of Didas, or Dada, kins
man of Sapor, king of Persia, by whom
they and their son (iabdelas were de
prived of their rank and property, and,
after a long imprisonment, beheaded.
By another account she was wife of
Sapor. /Of. AA.SS.

SS. Casia, Philippa, and Eutychia
were tried with AGAPK (:>), CHIOXIA, and
IitKNK, and remanded to prison, there
to be starved to death. Whether the
sentence was carried out is not known,
but they are accounted martyrs.

St. Casilda, April i» (CASILLA, CAS-
HLDA). "f c. the middle of the Ilth
century. Patron of Toledo. Invoked
against dysentery. Represented carry
ing roses in her lap.

Daughter of a Moorish king of Toledo,
called by different authors Alimaymon,
Aldemon, and Cano. This king was a
friend of Alfonso VI He had a palace
on the spot where afterwards stood the
monastery of Santa Fe, and a prison near
it where the hospital of Santa Cruz was
built. In that prison were many Chris
tian captives, whom Casilda could see
from her windows in the palace. She
had a brother named Alimaymon, who
was converted to Christianity, and took
the name of Peter on his baptism, in
consequence of which he is commonly
remembered as the Infante Petran, and
tin place where the B. V. Mary appeared
to him is called to this day Nuestra
>ra do Sepetran. His conversion led
to that of his sister. He found many
ways of alleviating the sufferings of the
< 'hristian prisoners and slaves, and soon
Ida, although still a Mohammedan,
| joined him in this charitable work. One
day, as she was going to the prison,
^attended by servants carrying baskets of
i and other comforts, she met her
lather, who asked her what she had in
those baskets. S!n- was afraid, and
answered, " Roses." The king, however,
suspected the truth, and opened tin;
baskets. He found th.-m full of roses;
but when distributed to the < hristians

they were changed back again to bread,
nil -at, etc. The same miracle is told of
86, KI.!/.AI:I:TH OF HUXGAKY, Boa 01

After this Casilda was disposed to
believe in the doctrine of the Christians,
and they gladly instructed her in their
religion. She had dysentery, and kept
growing worse, in spite of all the care
and advice of all the doctors in the king
dom. The Christians told her she would
recover if she went and bathed in the
lake of San Vicente, near Burgos, as
there were leeches in it that would suck
away all the bad blood, and completely
cure her complaint. She was extremely
anxious to try it, but it was in ( 'hristian
territory. King Alimaymon, however,
procured a safe conduct for her from
Fernando I., king of Castile. She set
out, accompanied by two maids, and
taking a present of Christian slaves ta
the king. On the way, she had to cross
a narrow bridge. The devil, foreseeing
that ho would lose a precious soul if
Casilda went to a Christian country and
was baptized, took this opportunity to
frighten her mule. She fell into the
water, and would certainly have been
drowned but for the timely interference
of an angel. At Burgos she recovered,
and was baptized in the church of St.
Vincent. She would not return to Toledo,
but remained among the Christians, and
lived as a religious recluse in a hut on
the banks of the lake. She attempted
to build a church on its borders, but the
work of each day was mysteriously i -
moved by night to the top of the hill,
so in the end the church was built there.
After some years her illness returned.
Keeling that death was near, she entreated
that if any one over prayed in her name
for recovery, especially from the com
plaint of which she was dying, the prayer
might be granted. Yepez places her
death about 1047. Some accounts make
it later.

Yepez, Sermon 1'"). Onintadueno,
Siintti* <1<> Toledo. Moroni, Di //>•.,
"Toledo." I'iipobrochjin/Lt.XX. Cahier.
Ilusenbeth, Euil»1> //<*. Flore/., />/»/?•»/
S'i'jrn'1'^ xxvii. 7.*>4, gives the legend with
slight variations.

St. Casilla, CASILDA.

148

ST. CAST X A

St. Casina, Nov. 7 (CARIN.^ CASSINK >,
M. at Ancyra, 302. Wife of St. Mela-
sippus, and mother of St. Anthony.
They were all imprisoned on account of
their religion. Anthony was thirteen
when he was brought from his prison to
see his parents hung up and cut to
pieces. Casina had her breasts cut off;
they both died under the torture. An
thony kissed their wounds, and anointed
himself with their blood. He next spat
in the face of the Emperor Julian the
Prevaricator, whereupon he also was
made to undergo cruel tortures. His
courage and constancy and other miracles
caused the conversion of forty boys, all
of whom were put to death with him.
There is no contemporary account, but
it is known that Julian the Apostate,
although he affected toleration, hated
the Christians, and allowed them to be
persecuted under various pretexts. R.M.
jiff//. Basil. Lobeau, Bas. Empire, ii.
438.

SS. Cassia and Paula, July 20, M.
with fourteen others at Damascus. E.M.
AA.SS.

St. Cassilda, CASILDA.

St. Cassine, CASINA.

St. Casta (1), June 1, M. with ST.

AUCEGA.

St. Casta (2), Feb. 22, M. with ST.
ANTIGA and others at Nicomedia. AA.SS.

St. Casta (3), Feb. 2:,, M. with
others, supposed in Pamphylia. Men
tioned in old martyrologies. AA.SS.

St. Castell, Jan. 27. The wife of
St. Julian the Hospitaller is so called in
the Martijroloqy of Salisbury. In some
editions of the Life of St. Julian, his wife
is called CASTELLANA — a certain Chate
laine. (See BASILISSA (0).)

St. Castellana, CASTELL.

St. Castonica, April 13, M. AA.SS.

B. Castora, June 14 or i :>. f i :;•.> i .
O.S.F. Widow. Daughter of Petruccio
Gabrielli, an eminent citizen of Gubbio.
Castora married Santuccio Sanfonerio,
count of Castello, San Martino, and
Bassinaro, and D.C.L. They lived at
St. Angelo in Vado. He was unkind to
her. She had one son, whom she brought
up in the fear of God. During her
husband's life she devoted all her spare
time to works of charity, and on his

death she joined the Third Order of St.
Francis. She was buried in the habit of
the order, in the Franciscan church of
St. Angelo in Vado. Henschenius,
AA.SS.

Castula. There are several martyrs
of this name, of whom little is known ;
it is sometimes written CASTULUS ; the
sex is uncertain.

St. Castula ( 1 ), June :>, M. at Koine.

St. Castula (2), June 2. One of
227 Roman martyrs commemorated to
gether in St. Jerome's Martyrologv.

St. Castula ('3 ), or CATULA/ilay 2S,
M. in Rome with St. Cummin and many
others.

St. Castula (4), May 31, M. at
Gerona, in Spain.

St. Castula ('."> ), May 7, M. in Africa.

St. Castula ((>), March 2f>, M. with
more than four hundred others at Nice,
in Bithynia.

St. Castula (7, s, «> ), June 1, MM.
commemorated with ST. AUCEGA.

St. Castula d<», Feb. 17, V. M.
at Terano, 273. Disciple of St. Valen
tine.

St. Castula Hi), Feb. 22, M. with
ST. ANTIGA and others at Nicomedia.

St. Castula 02), Feb. 2, M. with
CAPPA and many others.

St. Castula (13), Feb. 15. Com
panion of ST. AGAPE (2).

St. Castula (14), Feb. 1~>. Com
panion of ST. GEMELLA (2 ).

St. Castula O">), June 2, M. at
Lyons, not with BLANDIXA.

St. Castula (16), Jan. 2.5, of Capua.
AAJ38.

St. Castulina, June 1. One of 227
Roman martyrs commemorated together
in St. Jerome's Martyrology. AA.SS.

Catalina, CATHERINE.

Catalla, CATULLA.

Catelergue, CATHERINE.

Cateline, CATHERINE.

Caterina, CATHERINE.

Catheau, CATHERINE.

Catherine. The following are some
of the many variants of this name :
JKrATHARixA, Greek; CATALINA. Spanish;
CATELEKGUE, CATELIM:, CATHEAU, local
French; CATERINA, CATTAKIXA, Italian;
CAWTH, KATHLEEN, Irish; KAREN, Swe
dish ; KATHERINE, KATE, etc.

ST. GATHER INK

lit!

St. Catherine i 1 i, Nov. :>:>, V. M.
at Alcxuiulria about :>i:i. Perhaps the
same person who is called DOHOTHEA
by Rutinus. Represented ( 1 ) being
married to the Saviour, the Infant Christ
on His mother's lap, placing a ring on
her finger ; ( 2 ) a wheel armed with huge
thorn-shaped spikes standing beside her ;
sitting crowned, with a book on her
lap ; ( 4 ) teaching ; (o) trampling on
th« Emperor; ( <> ) dead, and carried by
angels to Mount Sinai. Besides these
distinctive representations, she generally,
in common with other martyrs, holds a
palm and a sword. She is one of the
four ^ivat virgin martyrs who are patrons
of the Greek Church; the others are
BS, HAKHAHA, MAIUJAKET, and EUPIIEMIA.
Patron of Venice, Guastalla, Goa, Scala
near Amalfi, Magdeburg, Zwickau, and
many other places ; of students, young
girls, philosophers, theologians, notaries ;
of schools and colleges; of learning,
education, and science ; of the millers of
Liege ; of the Barefooted Order of the
Holy Trinity. Often chosen by princesses
and high-born ladies as the saint of their
special devotion.

The Legend. St. Catherine was the
daughter of a king of Egypt, and was
related to the Emperor Constantino.
She was extremely beautiful, clever, and
learned. When she succeeded to her
father's kingdom and wealth, she had
many oilers of marriage, but she declined
t IK in all. Her tastes were all for science
and study, and she had no vocation for
married life. Her parliament, with
many compliments to her beauty and
wisdom, urged her strongly to change
her resolve and choose a husband. Her
answer, in the words of the Legenda
A u» </, was —

" We lete you playnelye wyto that
lyke as ye haue descryued us so wyl wo
descryue hyin that we wyll haue to our
lord and husl.oml, and if yo can gete
suche one we wyl agree to take hym
wytli alle our hcrte, for he that thai bo
lord of my n lierte and myn husbond shal
have tho four notable thynges in hym
OIKT al nit sure. Soo ferfortlily that al
creatures shall have node of hym, and
ho iicdeth of none. And ho that shal be
my lord must be of KO noble blood that

al men shal do to hym worshyp, and
thenvyth so greto a lord that I shal neuer
thynke that 1 made hym a kyngo and so
rirho that he passe al other in rychesses.
And so ful of beauto that angollys hauo
joye to behohle hym, and so pure that
his moder bo a virgyne, and soo meko
and benygne that ho can gladly forgyeno
al offencys do on unto hyra. Now I hauo
descryued to you hym that I wyl hauo
and desyro to my lord and to my husbond,
goo yo and seke hym, and if yo can fyndo
suche one I wyl be his wyf with al inyn
herte yf he vouche sauf to hauo me, and
fynally but yf ye fyndo suche one I shal
neuer take none. And take this for a fyual
answer."

Now, the B. V. MAIIY appeared to
Adrian, a holy hermit in the desert, " a
certain space of myles" from Alexandria,
and sent him to Catherine, with greetings
from the mother of the husband she had
chosen, for " that thylke same lord whom
she chaas is my sone that am a pure vyrgyne,
and he desyreth hir beauto and loveth
hir chastyto emonge allo the virgynes
on the orthe." Catherine goes to the
hermit's cell and is baptized, and then
she has a vision, in which the Child Jesus
marries her with a ring.

The Lcyycndarios add another episode
before her baptism and marriage. She
had a dream, in which tho B. V. Mary
appeared to her, in great beauty anil
splendour, carrying her Divine Son in
her arms. The Child seemed to her
very beautiful, but His face was towards
His mother, so that Catherine could not
seo it. She walked a few steps, first to
one side and then to tho other, trying to
look upon the face which she know must
bo divinely beautiful ; in vain : tho Child
always turned His bijck to her, to her
great grief. At last His mother asked
Him to look at Catherine and admire
her, telling Him how beautiful and how
rich and how wise and good she was.
But Ho said, "No, she is ugly and poor
and foolish ; I do not want to seo her."
The mother said, "What can poor
Catherine do to please you?" Tho
child replied, " Let her go and ask tho
hermit." Catherine awoke, anxious and
unhappy, and went and told her dream
to Adrian, who instructed her in tho

150

ST CATHERINE

Christian religion, and soon baptized her.
Then came the vision of her marriage.

At this crisis the Emperor Maximinus
ordered a grand sacrifice to the heathen
gods, and commanded all the Christians
in Alexandria to assist. Every man was
to bring one beast or more, according
to his ability. The sacrifices were so
numerous that the altars smoked con
tinually. The Emperor resolved to finish
the solemnity by a great sacrifice of one
hundred oxen. Catherine went with a
retinue of servants to the temple, and de
manded an audience of the Emperor, who
was amazed at her beauty, and encouraged
her to speak. She argued with him in
favour of the Christian doctrines. He
ordered fifty of the most learned heathen
philosophers and rhetoricians to dispute
with her, promising them great rewards
if they could convert her. They were
at first indignant at being asked to argue
with a young woman, but soon not only
consented to listen to her opinions, but
were converted by her. The Emperor
then appointed fifty others, whom also
she converted. He condemned them all
to be burnt. They fell at Catherine's
feet, asking her how they could be saved,
as they had not time to be baptized. She
assured them that their martyrdom would
be to them instead of baptism. Some
Christians who came to bury their ashes
found their bodies entire, not a hair hav
ing perished in the fire. This miracle
caused more conversions. Catherine was
beaten and otherwise tortured, and thrown
into a dungeon. Her wounds were mi
raculously healed, and a dove brought
her food. The Empress, who is called in
different versions of the legend Helen
and FAUSTINA, visited her in prison,
through the connivance of Porphyry,
•captain of the Emperor's guard. Both
%vero converted by Catherine, and when
they attempted to plead her cause, they
were put to death. The Emperor then
offered to make Catherine Empress if she
would abjure her religion. Exasperated
by her refusal, ho devised an engine con
sisting of four wheels armed with spikes,
which were to tear her in pieces. As
soon, however, as she was bound between
the wheels, fire fell from heaven, and
destroyed them, the pieces flying among

the people, and killing three thousand
of them. Catherine was then beheaded.
Her dying prayer was that her body
might not fall into the hands of the
pagans ; accordingly, angels carried it
to Mount Sinai, where it remains to this
day.

The earliest mention of St. Catherine
in the Eastern Church is in the Sth or Oth
century, when the Christians, then groan
ing under the rule of the Saracens, dis
covered her body in Egypt. It was
translated to a monastery on Mount
Sinai, built by the Empress HELEN, and
enlarged by Justinian. The legend of
its being carried there by angels is said
by Falconius, archbishop of San-Severino,
to mean that it was taken by the monks
of Sinai to enrich their dwelling with
this treasure. After the Crusades the
legend and the worship of Catherine
were widely spread in Western Europe.
Her popularity is extraordinary, con
sidering the small historical foundation
on which it rests. Eusebius tells that a
Christian lady, the richest and noblest
of the women of Alexandria, and very
learned and discreet, excited the licen
tious admiration of Maximinus (the
legend says Maxentius : both were living
at the time ), and as she would not listen
to him, he banished her and confiscated
her property. Eusebius does not mention
her name. Rufinus calls her DOROTHEA.
Baronins conjectures that this was her
name before her conversion, and that
she may have returned from her exile
and suffered martyrdom.

R.M. Yillegas. Assemani. Mrs. Jame
son, Sacred and Legendary Art. Baillet,
Vies. Butler, Liccs. Neale, East> m
ClnrcJi. Baronius, Annalcs. Lo Beau,
Hist. Bax. Empire, i. 7.">.

St. Catherine (2 ), or RACHEL, May 4,
Sept. i\( ), of Louvain ; called also " of
Brabant," " the Jewess," and by different
authors, " Saint," "Blessed," and "Vener
able." IMth century.

Between 1124 and 12SS there was a
rich Jew of Cologne who cared only for
his trade and the money he made by it.
He had a little daughter, named Rachel,
who, although scarcely more than a baby,
always listened attentively when her
father argued and disputed on religious

ST. CATHERINE

doctrines with ft Christian priest who
sometimes visited at the house. She
said nothing, Init it always seemed to
her that the Christian had the best of the
argument. When she was five years old,
her parents went to livo at Louvain, and
then- Rachel sometimes played with

< 'hristiun children. She began to think
Christian names much prettier than
Jewish ones ; the name of Mary in par
ticular pleased her very much, and,
although a Jewish name, it was much
more general among Christians than
J«'\vs. Sometimes she -went with her
little friends to the house of a good
priest named Reynier. He and his
servant Martha taught her for a year
and a half, and she wearied them with
her insatiable desire to learn. At last
her parents looked up from their money
bags, and began to perceive what their
daughter was doing under their very
eyes. They were very angry, but as
most of the persons in authority in the
place were Christians, they tried to pro
ceed quietly, and made a plan to take
Rachel away and marry her, although
she was only eight years old. Rachel
determined to leave her home. Having
made her little plan, she lay down and
slept so long and soundly that the time
of her intended flight passed by. Next
night she thought she would stay awake,
but sleep again overcame her. However,
the Virgin Mary awoke her, and said,
"Get up, Rachel, and go to Father
Reynier." She did so, and ho took her
to the Cistercian monastery called the
Pare des Dames, near the city of Louvain.
Hero she was christened by the name of

< 'atherine. Her parents complained to
the Duke of JJrabant and to Pope Ho
noring, saying their daughter was not of
an age to take any important step with
out their permission, and begging that
she might bo restored to them until she
should complete her twelfth year, when
they promised that if she persisted in
her wish to he ix Christian, they would
give their consent. At the same time,
they tri.-d hril.i-ry and every underhand
means to obtain a decision in their favour,
and them \\.-re not wanting wicked theo
logians, who, for the sake of money,
favoured the claim of the .Jews to have

their child given back to them at least
until her twelfth year. The duke in
clined to give up the child, but was
talked over by the Abbot Gauthier de
Villars. The bishop ordered the nuns
to give her up ; and the abbess, fearing
to disobey him, said, "Catherine, your
father wants to see you." Catherine
flatly refused to go to him. The bishop
continued to worry the nuns until the
case was referred to the Archbishop of
( 'ologuc, who decreed that they were not
to be molested any more. The bishop
then ordered Catherine to appear before
his tribunal, that it might bo finally
settled whether she had a true vocation
for a Christian and religions life or not.
The Jew engaged a clever advocate.
Catherine relied solely on the protection
of ( 'hrist and the Virgin Mary, who had
again appeared to her, and promised to
befriend her. The Abbot of Clairvaux
interfered, as the head of the Cistercian
Order, to which the Pope belonged; he
threatened the advocate that ho would
have him suspended from the exorcise of
his profession for his impiety, hut the
lawyer whispered, " I will not say a word
against the Jewess. Let me but gain
this money from the Jew." Accordingly,
as soon as ho had the fee in his hand, ho
refused to proceed with the case. Several
learned clergymen asked questions of the
young convert, and were convinced that
her call was the work of the Holy Spirit.
The bishop, however, continued to take
the Jew's part from time to time for two
years. In five years more Catherine
took tlio veil in the same monastery, and
spent the rest of her life there, distin
guished by great holiness, and honoured
after her death by miracles. Soon after
she had taken the veil, a young man, who
was related to her, asked for an inter
view, 011 pretence that he also wished t<>
bo converted. Catherine declined to see
him, or address a single word to him.

Analrcta, ii. 14.V>. Hucelinus, Men.
I: . AA.SS., May 4. Manrique, Anital*
of tin- ( 'i#trrciaiint took the story from the
writings of Thomas Cantipratonsis and
Ccsarius, both of whom knew Catherine,
and heard the details from her own mouth.

St. Catherine (3) of Siena, April W,
V. L847 1380, Called at Siena, "Tho

152

ST. CATHERINE

Beloved Sienese," " La Beata Popolana,"
"The Blessed Plebeian or daughter of
the People," " The People's Catherine,"
" Our Lady of the Contrada d'Oca," etc. ;
sometimes called EUPHROSYNE, i.e. gracious
or charming. The greatest woman saint
of the Order of St. Dominic. Patron of
Siena.

Represented ( 1 ) wearing a crown of
thorns, and a rosary, because she was a
Dominican ; (2) with a heart in her
hand ; (%) with St. Dominic, at the feet
of the Virgin Mary, as if both were re
ceiving the mission to promote the devo
tion of the rosary. ST. MARY MAGDALENE
DE' PAZZI is also represented with a crown
of thorns, but she has no rosary.

One of the youngest of twenty-five
children, and a twin, Catherine was the
daughter of James Benincasa, a rich dyer
of Siena, and Lapa Piagenti, his wife.
They belonged to the middle class, the
popolani, which then ruled the republic
of Siena, and Benincasa at one time held
the office of chief magistrate. They lived
in the Contrada d'Oca, where their house,
called the Fullonica (the dye-works), is
still shown. It is separated by a valley
from the hill on which stands the Do
minican church frequented all her life
by Catherine, and visible from her house.
When Catherine was six years old, she
and her brother were one day sent to
visit a married sister on the other side
of the hill. On their way home, they
had crossed the hill and the Valle Piatta,
and were just turning into the street now
called the Cortone, when Catherine's steps
were arrested by a vision of Paradise.
Looking up to the sky, she saw, just
above the church of St. Dominic, a ma
jestic throne, whence the Lord Jesus, in
splendid robes, extended His hand to
wards her in blessing. Beside Him stood
SS. Peter, Paul, and John, and around
them were angels and glorified souls.
Soon her brother missed her from his
side, and, looking back, saw her standing
still in the middle of the road, gazing up
into heaven. He called her, but she
took no notice ; he went back, and asked
her what she was doing, and as she did
not seem to hear, he took her by the
hand, to lead her away. She looked
down at him for a moment, and when

she again turned her eyes heavenward
the vision was gone. The child wept
disconsolately, and said, "Ah! if you
could have seen what I saw, you would
never have disturbed me." But the light
she had seen through the gates of Para
dise shone evermore in her soul. From
that time forth she considered herself
consecrated to God, and in every detail
of her daily life she had a great fear of
offending Him. With this in view, she
prayed long and earnestly, set herself to
root all self-love out of her own heart,
and practised fasting and mortification
of various sorts. Her great talent for
converting and influencing others early
manifested itself by her collecting chil
dren around her, and persuading them
to use the same sort of self-denial, and
say certain prayers. When she was
twelve years old her parents began to
busy themselves about a suitable marriage
for her ; but as she objected to every
plan of the sort, they applied to a relation,
who was a Dominican friar, and begged
him to advise her to consent to their
wishes. Instead of doing so, he recom
mended her to cut off her hair, in token
that all schemes for marriage were to be
given up. Catherine's hair was very
abundant, and of a golden brown^hue
that has always been much admired in
Italy, so that when Lapa found what her
daughter had done she was very angry.
This, added to her general neglect of
dress and appearance, and her prolonged
prayers and meditations, so displeased
her family that they dismissed their
servant, and made Catherine do all the
work of the house ; at the same time, they
deprived her of the much-valued privilege
of having a room to herself. She laboured
cheerfully to perform all the services re
quired of her, carrying burdens up and
down stairs lightly, and working in the
kitchen so well and so quickly that she
still had time for her devotions. Her
father before long recognized her voca
tion, and when she declared herself
vowed to a religious life, he said no one
should interfere with her pious observ
ances, and he helped her liberally in her
charities. A small room under the house
was given up to her, and here, with a
plank for a bed r.nd a stone for a pillow,

ST. CATHERINE

153

she lial leisure and seclusion for her
it. i vent prayers. Sho allowed herself
less and less food and sleep. In after-
years she said that the hardest struggle
of her life had been to overcome the
re and the necessity for sleep. She
;al( d her mother to ask the Sisters
of Penance (Third Order of St. Dominic),
tin n commonly called .1/i nit'-lln tr( cloaked
sisters), to receive her into their number.
They refused, on the ground that they
had never taken young girls, and had no
cloister to keep them in; they were al
most all widows of ripe age, living each
in her own home ; they had no vows, and
in their liln-rty they daily renewed the
offering of their lives. By-and-by
Catherine caught small-pox of a virulent
type, and while Lapa was trembling for
the life of her child, the young saint
besought her to apply again to the 3/in//-
/' llnti'j and beg them to accept her as a
sister. They said they would receive
her, provided she was not strikingly
pretty. As she was now so disfigured
as to be scarcely recognizable, there
remained no obstacle, and as soon as
possible on her recovery, sho was the
first virgin to be clothed with the habit
of the Sisters of Penance. Tommaseo
says it was in I :'.''• J ; .Mrs. Drane follows
those authors who place it a little later.
( 'atlierine loved her mantle, the symbol
of her consecration ; she patched it when
necessary, and took care of it as long as
she lived. The next throe years sho
spent in the strictest solitude and silence,
communing with God, and learning to
sill (due every natural inclination, some
times afflicted by frightful temptations,
often consoled by heavenly visions, which
continued more or less during the whole
of her wonderful life. At the end of
tin iso three years sho was commanded
by the Saviour to go and sit at table
with her family; as she regretted the
solitude in which her Lord had deigned
to converse with her, lie told her she
could have a cell within her heart, where
il. would dwell, so that while she was
ministering to oth< is, sin: would still be
alone with Him. This constant reali/a-
tinn of the presence of Christ lifted her
ul)ove all small considerations, all fears
and difficulties, and gave her that clear

discernment, that deep humility, ready
courage and helpfulness, by which she
earned the love and reverence of her
contemporaries. It was about tho same
time that sho had tho vision in which sho
was married to the Lord, and sho ever
afterwards saw His ring on her finger,
although it was invisible to others.

St. Catherine is remarkable for the many
and difficult conversions sho effected.
Her earnestness gave her wonderful in
fluence over all whom she addressed.
When she was preaching, those who
could not come near enough to hear her
words were stirred to contrition and
conversion by her look. One of her
converts was Nicolas do Toldo, a young
knight of Perugia, who was condemned
to death. Ho cursed his fate and his
judges, and although as yet ho felt
neither penitence nor resignation, ho sent
to beg Catherine to visit him in prison,
and by her affectionate remonstrances
she brought him to a better way of feel
ing. She persuaded him to make a
general confession, and he received the
Holy Communion for the first time in
his life. He made her promise to stand
beside him at the block. Sho met him
on the scaffold, and, kneeling, prayed
with and for him until the axe fell, when
sho received his head in her hands, and
saw his soul ascend to heaven.

She was requested to try to convert
Nanni di Ser Vanni, a very troublesome,
worldly, and irreligious man. Finding
all her exhortations fruitless, she ceased
to speak, and began silently praying for
him. He immediately repented of his
sins, humbly made peace with his neigh
bours, and embraced a penitential life.
He gave St. Catherine his castle of P.el-
caro, near Siena, which, in 1377, she
converted into a convent.

There was a poor leprous woman
named Cecca in one of tho hospitals at
Siena. The institution was so poor that
it could hardly supply its inmates with
tho necessaries of life. As sho grew
worse, and became a source of danger as
well as disgust to others, no one liked
to attend upon her, and it was decided
that sho should bo sent to tho lazaret
outside the gates. Catherine heard of
the case, and went to tho hospital. She

154

ST. CATHERINE

kissed the poor sufferer wliftm others
were afraid to touch, and said that if
they would allow her to remain she
would supply her with everything she
required, and would come daily and
minister to her with her own hands.
Prom that day she came every morning
and evening, dressed the wounds of the
patient, and attended to all her wants
with as much care and reverence as if
it had been her own mother. At first
Cecca was pleased, but she soon became
very ungrateful and insolent, and reviled
her charitable nurse with unseemly words.
'Catherine bore it all with her usual un
ruffled sweetness, overcame the objec
tions of her mother to the risk she ran,
and assisted not only with her hands,
but with prayers and exhortations until
Cecca died. Meantime, this saintly nurse
had caught leprosy in her hands. She
washed the body and reverently carried
it to the grave, laid it in, and covered it
with earth. When this was done, the
hands that had served God in the person
of His afflicted one were cleansed of their
leprosy, and were ever after very fair
and delicate-looking.

It was probably late in the year 1:57.'),
after another such great victory over
the rebellion of body and spirit against
loathsome labours and slanderous in
sinuations, that she had the blessed vision
of the Saviour offering her two crowns.
He bade her choose between one decked
with precious stones and one made of
very sharp thorns, and asked which would
she have in this life that she might have
the other in the life to come. " I choose
in this life to be ever more conformed
and made like to Thee, my Lord and
Saviour, and cheerfully to bear crosses
and thorns for Thy love, as Thou hast
done for mine." Thus saying, she took
from His hands the crown of thorns,
placed it on her head, and pressed it
down so forcibly that she felt lor a long
time a sensible pain in her head from
the pricking of the thorns.

In L'374 the pestilence called in Eng
land the "black death" raged in Tuscany,
arid Catherine devoted herself to the care
of the bodies and souls of the victims in
her native city. Among the patients
\?hosc lives she saved by exertions and

prayers was her biographer Raymond of
( 'upua.

When her services were no longer
urgently needed in Siena, the people of
Pisa sent for her. There she healed
many and converted such numbers that
Pope Gregory XL, who was then at
Avignon, commissioned three Dominican
friars, of whom Raymond was one, to
hear the confessions of Catherine's con
verts. They were occupied day and
night in shriving penitents, many of
whom had never confessed before. It
was at Pisa, in the chapel of St. Chris
tina, that Catherine received the stigmata
while praying before the crucifix painted
by Guinta Pisano in 12(30.

Her sanctity, charity, and discretion
were now so well known as to procure
for her — a tradesman's daughter, without
health, wealth, beauty, or ambition — an
influence in the ecclesiastical and politi
cal world, which has often been bought
too dearly or sought in vain by queens
and princesses. One use she made of it
was to preach a Crusade against the
Turks. But she. saw that the discords
at home must first be healed. Florence
was in open revolt against the Church,
and in 1374 the Pope laid the city under
an interdict. The people of Florence
sent for Catherine, and, after fully in-\
structing her in the case from their point
of view, appointed her ambassador ex
traordinary to go to Avignon and effect
a reconciliation with the Pope. He
received her with the greatest respect,
but she did not succeed in concluding a
solid peace. However, she took advantage
of her visit to His Holiness to urge him
to go to Rome, where, for lack of a ruler,
anarchy and great misery prevailed, and
grew daily worse. Many writers have
asserted that the return of the Popes
from Avignon to Rome was brought about
by Catherine, but Gregory XI. had
already perceived that it was his duty
to take this step, and had resolved to do
it. She encouraged him in his pious
intention, and adjured him not to be
turned from it by any difficulty, nor to
listen to the persuasions of those whose
interest it was to keep him away from
the holy city.

After three months at Avignon, she

ST. CATHERINE

went back to Siena, and resumed her life
of charity and devotion. The Pope at
the same time made the long-deferred
journey to Rome. Soon afterwards ho
desired her to go to Florence, whero she
lived for some time amid daily crimes,
riots, and confiscations. During this
IH riod there occurred an insurrection of
the people, chiefly directed against the
( i nulphs. The houses of some of Cathe-
rinc's friends wore sacked and burnt.
A mob of some of the lowest of the
populace suddenly took the fancy to
blame ( 'atherine as the author of all
their misfortunes. They cried out, " Let
us take Catherine and burn her ; let us
cut that wicked woman in pieces."

Those who had given her hospitality
were afraid, and some of her friends
tried to get her away secretly from the
house where she was living. As she
was praying in the garden, she heard
the cries of the rioters, and went joyfully
forward. The first man she met was a
furious ruffian, brandishing a sword and
shouting, ''Where is Catherine?" She
knelt down before him and said quietly,
"I am Catherine. Do to mo whatever
God may permit.'1 The man was em
barrassed, and could only adjure her to
fly. She said, "Why should I fly ?
Where would you have me go? I ask
nothing better than to be sacrificed for
<i«>d siiid the Church, so if you are going
to kill me, I will not resist." The man
and his followers withdrew in confusion.
This happened in 1:178. On the death
of Gregory XI., in the same year, began
the Great Schism. Catherine considered
Urban VI. duly elected, and influenced
the Florentines to como to terms with
him and to reject the claims of the anti-
popo Clement VII. She wrote, however,
to Urban, exhorting him to restrain a
temper that made him so many enemies,
and tt:n<lr<l to perpetuate the scandal of
tin- schism. He took her advice in good
part, and sent for her to Home. She
went iln re \vith her mother and several
of her fri< mis. The Pope proposed to
send her with Si. < Mm KINK OF SWKIM:N,
to la-ing <>v. r to his party Joan, queen
of Sicily. < atherino of Siena was eager
to go, but the project was set aside.
Catherine, however, helped to keep Urban

on the throne by writing to Queen Joan,
to the King of France, the King of
Hungary, and other personages, entreat
ing them to return to their righful master.
While she was working in the cause of
the Church, she died at Koine, i:»S«», at
the age of thirty-three, and was buried
in the church of the Minerva.

She was canonized by Pius II. in
1 MI. Her house in the Coutrada d'Oca,
at Siena, is still shown with reverent
love, and many pilgrims resort to the
little chapel attached to it, and delight
to see the stone that served her for a
pillow, her veil, and other mementoes of
this holy woman.

It is counted for righteousness to
some of the saints that they never
looked anybody in the face ; Catherine,
on the other hand, looked straight at
any one she spoke to. Her countenance
was frank, her eyes very bright, her
chin and jaw very strong and somewhat
prominent. She had considerable mus
cular strength and immense energy, but
during the greater part of her life she
suffered from a complaint of the stomach,
which made it impossible for her to eat
without suffering great pain and sick
ness. But neither pain nor weariness
ever prevented her being on the alert to
seize any opportunity of winning a soul
to God or doing any corporal act of
mercy. She would go as simply and
readily to a royal palace or a plague-
infested slum, to meet a friendly depu
tation or a hostile mob. During the
last year of her life she wont with
unflagging energy about the streets of
Home, so emaciated that she looked like
one who had returned from the grave.

She comes into contemporary history
as a quite exceptional and important
personage. She was a mediator not only
between Florence and the Pope, but also
between Itomo and Venice, and betw< en
Venice and Hungary. Families who
cherished hereditary feuds as points of
honour, and regarded the vendetta as a
duty, were reconciled by her.

Niccolo Tommaseo publishes ."»7:J of

her letters. Among these are a do/«-n

• rogory XI. and nine to Urban VI. ;

otln-rs are to the King of France, the

King of Hungary, the Queen of Naples,

156

ST. CATHERINE

Sir John Hawkwood, and otli^r condot-
tieri, the " Eight of War,'5 bishops, nuns,
citizens.

Her reproofs were wonderfully gentle
and respectful, yet forcible and undis
guised. She was severe towards the
clergy, "having her eye," says Toru-
maseo, "on a Church higher than the
Vatican, the universal Church built in
the Word of God." She says that " self-
love has poisoned the whole world and
the mystic body of the Church." She
speaks of the immoral and neglectful
chief pastors as " lepers puffed up with
pride, insatiable in grubbing up the
riches and delights of the world, which
are the death of the soul." She wrote
to two priests who had an inveterate
quarrel, " Has the earth not yet opened
and swallowed you up ? " In one of
her letters to Gregory she calls herself,
"Your unworthy daughter Catarina,
servant and slave," etc., and winds up,
"Pardon my ignorance, and may the
love and grief that make me say these
things excuse me to your benignity.
Give me your blessing. Eemain in the
holy and sweet love of God."

Besides her letters, she was the author
of a book in the form of a dialogue
between God and the soul, and of several
poems. It was not until she was much
over twenty that she learnt to read, and
writing never became easy to her. She
dictated her letters to one or other of
her disciples, who were proud to act as
her amanuenses. Yet Italian writers
rank her with Petrarch and Boccaccio,
as one of the makers of the Lingua
Toscana, which became modern Italian.
She had a clear head, and could dictate
to her secretaries three letters at once,
addressed to three different important
personages.

Her name is in the Hainan Mar tyro-
logy ; she appears in every collection
of Lives of Saints, and every history of
her time. Her secretaries, Stephen
Maconi and Raymond of Capua wrote
their recollections of her. More than
forty Lives of this saint have been
written in various languages. There
are two very interesting modern English
biographies of Catherine — one by Mrs.
Drano, a Roman Catholic, the other by

Mrs. Josephine Butler, a Protestant. I
have drawn largely from both and from
Tommaseo. Le Letlere di S. Catcrina
fla Siena . . . con procmio e note, etc.,
Florence, 1 860 ; Mrs. Jameson, Sacred
and Legendary Art and Legends of the
Monastic Orders; and the Contemporary
Ervicw, March, 1883, "Siena," by S. J.
Capper.

St. Catherine (4) of Sweden, June
25,|Maroh22,f 1380, Princess. Abbess.
Invoked for safe delivery by pregnant
women.

Represented with a stag by her side.

Catherine was second daughter and
fourth child of Fulk or Wulf Gudmars-
son and ST. BRIGID (10 j. Her education
was entrusted to a holy abbess of Ris-
berg, in Nericia. Her parents married
her to Eggard Lydersson de Kyren, a
devout soldier. They lived together in
the greatest harmony and affection,
under a vow of perpetual celibacy, con
firmed by sacraments. Her brother,
Charles Ulfsson, a soldier, councillor,
and lagman of Nericia, opposed her
piety, and was very angry because she
converted his wife to wear very plain
and old-fashioned clothes, instead of
such as were then worn by ladies of
their rank in Sweden.

In 1344, soon after Catherine's mar
riage, her father died and was buried
in the monastery of Alvastro. His
widow Brigid, by Divine direction, went
to Rome. Catherine wished ardently
to go to Rome too. Her husband would
have given her leave to do so, but
her brother Charles wrote, threatening
to kill him if he allowed Catherine to
leave the country. Eggard happened
to be out when the letter arrived, and
Catherine opened it. She appealed to
her uncle Israel Birger, lagman of Up
land, who encouraged her to go. Accord
ingly, she went with two Swedish ladies
and Gustav Thunason, who seems to
have been her uncle by marriage. They
arrived in Rome in August, i:>.">t>.
Brigid was then at Bologna, whore she
went by the guidance of Christ to reform
the abbot and monks of Parpensi.
Meantime, Catherine sought her anxi
ously in Rome for eight days. At the
same time, Peter Olaf, Brigid's spiritual

ST. rATIIKRIXK

157

father, was seized with a great longing
to go back to Rome. His mind was in
a state of restless excitement ; ho could
neither eat nor sleep, feeling that some
thing important demanded their imme
diate return. So he sot off in advance
of the rest of the party, and no sooner
arrived at St. Peter's Church than he
saw Catherine. Ho took her to her
mother at Bologna, where she was
received by the reformed abbot and
brethren with great devotion and joy.
They then went back to Rome. Catherine
visited the stations and the holiest
places, and after a few weeks sho pur
posed to return to Sweden. Her mother
begged her not to leave, and Catherine
yielded, saying that in order to stay
with her, sho would renounce her
country, and even • her husband, whom
sho loved more than her life. Brigid,
who had pined and prayed for a com
panion, was now told by Christ that this
was the companion Ho had promised
her. Together they visited the sick and
relieved the poor, as Brigid, by her
example, had taught Catherine to do in
her childhood. Catherine's beauty,
wisdom, and kindness soon made her
very popular. Her extreme fairness and
bright colouring were uncommon in
Italy, and her comeliness was the more
conspicuous from her unusual height.
She cared so little for fashion or splen
dour that sho wore ragged old clothes.
With her mother's permission, sho
accompanied some of the noblest ladies
of Rome on an excursion outside the
walls. They were tempted by some
beautiful grapes that hung over the wall
of a vineyard. The other ladies asked
Catherine, as the tallest of tho party, to
try to reach them and pick ono of tho
bunches. When she stretched up her
arms, her cloak foil back, and sho
showed her sleeves, patched and ragged ;
but they looked to her friends like
hyacinth and purple, and they said,
" Oh, Lady Catherine, what magnificent
sleeves ! Who would have thought you
wore such splendid clothes ! " It was
tho same with her straw bed; a pious
friend who came to see her when she
was ill, thought sho was lying on a
sumptuous couch, with coverings of scar

let and gold. Once when Brigid prayed
for graco to love Christ more, the Virgin
M-iry advised her to wear an old petti
coat of Catherine's, who loved old better
than now, and serge better than silk.
A woman who was Catherine's maid for
five years, and afterwards a nun at
Wadstein, testified that Catherine had
never said an angry or impatient word.

After Catherine had promised to stay
in Rome, she became homesick, and
longed to see her own country, her own
house, and her husband. She com
plained to her mother of these feelings.
Brigid sent for her confessor. They
agreed that scourging was the only thing
to expel tho temptation to regret. While
Catherine was undergoing this discipline,
sho said to tho priest, " Go on, strike
harder ; you have not reached the hard
ness of my heart." At last her sorrow
ful countenance cleared, and with a
joyful accent she said, " Now I feel my
heart changed."

Tho Pope being at Avignon, many
sons of Belial infested tho streets and
public places of Rome, and annoyed
peaceable citizens and respectable women
by their insolence and violence to such
an extent that they could not visit the
stations and indulgences. Young women
in particular were not safe. Catherine
was forbidden by her mother to go out
without a numerous suite. For several
days she stayed in the house with her
maids, while her mother wont to tho
indulgences, until sho began to say to
herself, "I lead a miserable life here,
sitting brutally at home, while others go
and feed their souls at the services. My
brothers and sisters in my own country
can serve God in peace." She fell into
low spirits, and soon had a dream which
depressed her still more. As her mother
saw her weeping, sho asked what was
tho matter. Catherine told her that sho
dreamt sho was surrounded with fire,
and could not get away. Sho saw tho
Virgin Mary, and cried out to her for
h.-Ip. Tho Blessed Virgin replied,
" How can I help you while you cherish
a sinful longing to return home ? " Her
mother reasoned with her, and they
prayed that sho might have grace to
k« • p her good resolutions.

158

ST. CATHERINE

She was about twenty, and had been
more than a year in Rome* when her
husband died. Many suitors speedily
applied for the hand of the beautiful
young widow. Once on a festival, when
St. Brigid was engaged elsewhere,
Catherine went to the church of St.
Sebastian outside the walls, to obtain
indulgences. A certain count, with a
numerous retinue, hid among the vine
yards through which she had to pass ;
he ordered his servants to be ready to
seize her the moment he should give
the signal. A stag appeared, and while
they were all looking at it Catherine
passed safely by unnoticed. Brigid
knew of it by revelation, and from that
day Catherine never dared to go openly
to the stations outside the walls, nor
even about the streets, but frequented
the nearest church. At last, one even
ing, Brigid said, " To-morrow is the
feast of St. Lawrence ; we will go
together to his church." Catherine was
afraid, but her mother was confident
that they would be protected by God
and St. Lawrence. In the morning,
when they went out, they fortified them
selves five times "with the sign of the
cross, and commended themselves to the
protection of the five wounds and of St.
Lawrence, and so got safe to church.
The count who had annoyed them was
hiding about on the road before it was
light, hoping to waylay them. When
the sun had risen, and was high in the
heavens, one of the servants, being very
tired, said, "Master, why are we waiting
here ? " " To catch that lady for whom
we watched in vain before." " She
passed by hours ago, and is in the
church." " But," said the count, " it
is not yet day." " On the contrary,"
said the man, " the sun is high ! " Then
the count became aware that he had been
struck blind for his temerity. He bade
his people lead him to the church and
inquire for the Swedish ladies. When
they were found, he fell at their feet
and confessed his fault. His sight was
restored by their prayers.

Once when Catherine was praying
before the altar of St. John, in the
church of St. Peter, a pilgrim stood
beside her and desired her prayers for a

woman of Nericia. " Who are you ? "
asked Catherine. "A pilgrim from
Sweden." Catherine courteously invited
her to come to her mother's house. Tho
stranger excused herself, saying she had
not time to stay, but again urged Cathe
rine to pray earnestly for the soul of her
countrywoman, adding, " You will soon
hear news from home, and receive
valuable help from the Norse woman,
and she will place a crown of gold on
your heads." Therewith she disappeared.
When Catherine questioned her com
panions, they said they had heard her
talking, but had seen no one. Next day
came the news that Guda, the wife of
Charles, was dead, and in due time a
friend brought her will and the gold
crown which, according to the custom of
her country, ,she always wore. The
proceeds of its sale provided for the
household of these two saintly women
for a whole year. They lived together
for twenty-five years in Rome, and then
went to Jerusalem. While there, Brigid
was taken ill. She lived to get back to
Rome, but died soon after her arrival, in
1373. By her own wish she was buried
first at the monastery of Parnisperna,
and was translated the same year to her
own monastery of Wadstein. Catherine
made all the arrangements, and con
ducted the funeral party. One of the
difficulties of the journey was the law
lessness of the Crucifers, a military
religious order who had become corrupt.
Miracles accompanied the cortet/r all the
way. They sailed from Dantzig, landed
at Osgocia, and proceeded to Suder-
copensem, where a great crowd met
them. Nobles and clergy, rich and
poor, men and women, accompanied
them to Wadstein, with all the relics
that had been given by the queen of
Naples and other great personages, to
the new monastery. At Lincopen,
Catherine was well received, and the
whole population attended a grand func
tion in the cathedral. They arrived at
Wadstein, July 4. Among the nuns
was Brigid's granddaughter, Ingigerda,
afterward's abbess. Catherine gave her
pious advice, and told her that both tho
detractor and the listener carry the devil
in their tongues. She therefore prayed

B. CATHKIMXK

159

that God would avert from the Brigit-
tines the pestiferous bite of detraction.

In accordance with the wishes of the
whole community, Catherine went to
Rome to procure the canonization of her
mother. She set off in Easter week,
between April 22 and 2i', I .'17 .">, and
travelled to that city. She also went to
Naples to collect evidence about her
mother's miracles. Gregory XL, Urban
VI., the magnates of Sweden, and all
the grandees and cardinals who had
known Brigid in Rome, favoured her
< -Hurts. But in those troubled times
there were so many affairs in the eccle
siastical world more pressing than the
canonization of the noble Swede, that it
could not be carried on at once, and
Catherine saw that it must be left until
the future. Accordingly, she decided
to return home. All the way she was
treated as a person of great sanctity, and
her progress was again marked by
miracles. She was taken ill when she
left Rome, and gradually became worse.
She arrived at Wadstein in July, I:»SM,
and died March 24, 1381. She could
not take the last sacraments because of
the state of her stomach, and could not
speak, but she silently prayed, and made
an act of devotion to the sacrament, and
so departed. Instantly a wonderfully
bright star appeared above the house,
and remained there, hanging like a flame
over the bier, and, as soon as she was
buried, it disappeared. To her funeral
came all the bishops and abbots of
len, Norway, and Denmark, also
Eric, son of Albert, king of Sweden, and
many barons.

Catherine wrought miracles. She
twice cured servants who had dangerous
foils— one from a cart, and one from the
top of the house at Wadstein. A woman
who had had seven dead children begged
her help, as she was expecting another,
:md feared it would also bo born dead.
Catherine prayed for her, gave her a
piece of a dress that Urigid had worn,
tuld her to keep it about her constantly
until her confinement, and promised to
come if she would send f,,r her as soon
as she was taken ill. Accordingly, she
went at the critieil time, and prayed
with the mother until she was delivered

of a living daughter, who was called
Brigid in recognition of the assistance
of the two holy women.

For about a hundred years after her
death her festival was kept on March 23
in Poland and Sweden. As it often fell
in Holy Week, Leo X., in Iol2, changed
it to June 2.">.

She compiled a devotional book called
Si'-linna Truest ( Consolation of the Soul) ;
it is written on vellum.

R.M., March 22. AA.SS. Fant and
Annerstet, Script. Rerum Succicarum
M.>lt'i -/>/, iii. 244, etc. Butler. Bail-
let. Villegas. Mrs. Jameson. Cahier.

B. Catherine ( ."» ) Colombini, Oct.
2»». f 1.5S7. First nun of the Order
af Jesuates of St. Jerome, and founder
of their first convent at Valpiatta.

When, about l.'Wo, St. John Colom
bini of Siena had founded the Order of
Apostolic Clerks or Jesuates of St.
Jerome for men, he wished to establish
a congregation of women to serve God
in poverty as great as that he imposed
on his disciples. Ho looked around for
a pious woman to begin the undertaking,
and chose his cousin Catherine, daughter
of Thomas Colombini, a knight of the
Order of the Holy Virgin Mother of
God, popularly called the Jovial Bro
thers, because they were married and
lived in considerable splendour. Cathe
rine was willing to be a virgin nun, but,
accustomed to wealth, she did not like
the idea of poverty, privation, and beg
ging barefooted from door to door.
However, St. John Columbini soon
persuaded her to follow his example.
She began by giving away all she had,
and making herself a plain coarse serge
gown. She was joined by several widows-
and single-women, who had been much
impressed by his preaching. He gave
them the habit of his order, with the
addition of a white veil. They lived m
the house of Catherine, and when, about
I '-"S she built the convent of Valpiatta,
they chose her for their superior. They
lived by the work of their hands, and
admitted no member who had not first
divest .1 herself of all her worldly goods.
( 'uthorine set an example of the utmost
humility, asceticism, and all other
virtues for twenty-two years, and died

160

B. CATHERINE

Oct. 20, 1387. Helyot, Ordv* M<maa-
tiques, part iii. chap. ,">.">, ;>*'>; Drane,
Catherine <>f Sienna.

B. Catherine (»'• > Carreria, Aug. 1,
of Mantua, O.S.D. Michele Pio, the
historian of the Dominican Saints, says
that at the age of forty-two, after a very
pious life, she shut herself up in a narrow-
cell, or rather between two walls, and
never came out for thirty- eight years, to
the great admiration of all good people.
She was buried near the spot. When
the cathedral of Mantua was built on
the ground where her cell and grave
had been, her body was placed in a
handsome tomb in the chapel of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in the cathedral.
An inscription setting forth her sanctity,
and telling that she was of the Third
order of Preachers, was seen there by
Serafino Razzi, another historian of the
Order, but the date of her death is un
known. AA.SS., Prseter.

St. Catherine (7), Nov. 20, V. of
Tartary. "f 1414. Carried captive to
Naples, and presented by the queen to
ST. CATHERINE (4), who gave her her
own name in baptism, and eventually
took her to Wadstein. She lived there
as a Brigittine nun until her death.
•Catilburnus, a holy priest, saw her soul
carried to heaven in the form of a very
bright star ; at the same time it was
revealed to him that she was the daughter
of a prince of Tartary. Vastovius, Vitis
Aquilonia. Gynecseum.

B. Catherine (sj Mancini, MARY
(54) MANCINI.

St. Catherine ( '•' ), March t», of Bo
logna. 14i:;-14ti:{. O.S.F. Abbess,
painter, and author. Patron of artists
and of the Academy of Painters at Bo
logna. Only child of John de' Vigri,
or Vegri, a member of one of the prin
cipal families of Ferrara ; it became ex
tinct in l»n(.». Her mother was Benvenuta
Mammolini. John being at Padua in
the autumn of 1 4 1 :5, Benvenuta went to
stay with her own relations at Bologna
for her confinement, and there Catherine
was born, Sept. 8. When she was nine
or ten years old, she was placed at the
court of the Marquis of Ferrara, and
educated with his daughter, the Princess
Margaret of Este. It was during her

residence there that the tragedy occurred
which Byron has described in his poem
"Parisina." This may have deepened
her mistrust of worldly life, and accen
tuated her inclination for that of the
cloister. She placed herself under the
care of a devout woman named Lucia
Mascheroni, who had already edified all
Ferrara by her virtuous training of many
secular young women. About this time
Lucia, with all her pupils, went to live
in a house which had been partly built
for a monastery, but had never been
finished. At first they followed the rule
of St. Augustine, without any vow of
seclusion. Here Catherine lived for
fifteen or sixteen years ; here she endured
those horrible struggles with the devil,
and obtained those graces and heavenly
visions which are described in her book,
Spiritual Combats. In 14:52, when Lucia
and her disciples adopted the rule of ST.
CLARA, the convents of Assisi and Mantua
were the only communities of that order.
The life was so ascetic that few women
were able to endure it : some died, and
nearly all were more or less dangerously
ill. Pope Eugenius IV., in 1446, modi
fied their austerities, authorizing the
nuns, among other indulgences, to wear
wooden sandals and woollen socks ; their
fasts also were to be less rigorous.

In 145(3 Catherine was chosen superior
of fifteen or, by some accounts, twenty-
three of her companions to go and settle
in the new convent of Corpo di Cristo,
at Bologna, where she established the
rule of St. Clara in its original severity.
Two years later, Julius II. permitted
her to take her mother into the convent
to give her the attention her ago and
blindness required. Catherine resigned
the government of the convent in 14i>o,
but was reappointed the following year,
and remained in office until her death,
March <J, 14G3. Nineteen days after
wards her body was disinterred and found
warm, and with a look of youth and
freshness it had not worn of late years.
It was set up in the choir for the vene
ration of the public, and there worked
miracles. The people of Bologna revered
her as a saint from that time. Her canoni
zation took place about two hundred
years later.

ST. C'ATHKIIINI-:

101

In her convent of Corpo di Cristo aro
preserved several miuiatures painted by
her with great care and delicacy. ( )no pic
ture of the Infant Christ — her favourite
subject — used to be sent to sick persons
to cure them of whatsoever disease they
had. She is said to have been a pupil
of Lippo Dalnmsio. In the Pinacotcca
at Bologna is a small picture on wood,
of ST. UUSULA, standing, and gathering
her kneeling companions under In r
mantle. It is signed " Cat< •/•///" 1 '/«//•//.
1 LM.V It was given to the Academy of
Fine Arts by Count Charles Harescalchi.
Baruffaldi says his most treasured pos-
•n was the daily Psalter Catherine
used and read ; it was written on parch
ment. In tin- margin of the first page
was the Bambino in swaddling-bands,
very minutely drawn and most beauti
fully painted in pure and brilliant colour
ing. After his time it became one of
the treasures of the cathedral at Ferrara.
One book was undoubtedly written by
this saint ; it is entitled, Libra ddle
Ji<itt<i<//ii- Xjiiritunli v. dcllc 8clt<>. arme per
rle. Another book of revelations
has been attributed to her. Some Latin
verses, called "The llosary," aro said
to have been dictated to her by the
Saviour. Two portraits of her are still
to be seen — one by Zuccheri, formerly
in the church of Sta. Maria delle Grazie,
now in the ( 'asa Hercolani ; the other,
and better painted, by Julio Morina,
represents the vision she had of Christ
and the Blessed Virgin with SS. Stephen
and Lawrence. It is in the Pinacoteca.
It.M. Her Life, by Grassetti, is in
the Bollandist collection, and was trans
lated into Knglish for the London Ora
tory. Barotti, M'mitrii: Ixtorichr. di
L'tt'i-nt'i Ferrarcri. Ticozzi, Dizumario
</«/// .1 /•!•// /'/'•///', *tc. Amorini, Vite de*
I ' Bokgneri. Baruffaldi, Pittori
I - ."Mr-, -'ameson, Let/ends of the
M<'ii<mti<- < )r<L n.

B. Catherine ( m) Morigia, April

. of 1'allanxa. f 147H. Founder
and first abbess of the nuns of St. Am
brose ad Nemus, and of the convent of
Santa ."Maria del Monte, at Varasio.
Born at Pallanza, a little town on Lake
ttaggiore. <»n the appearance of the
plague there, in 1 •»:;;, her father, mother,

and twelve children fled to Ugovia,
where they all died of it except ( 'atherine.
She was then consigned to the care of
( 'atherine di Silenzo, a lady of rank and
of great reputation for sanctity. After
her death, Catherine lived for a short
time with some pious women at Monte
Varaiso, near Pallanza, and tended them
during the plague, of which they all
died. She afterwards had it herself,
and was miraculously cured on her
return to her native place. She then
went back to Varasio, and was joined by
B. JULIANA, B. BIVIA, and two others.
After living in great piety and austerity
for some years, they obtained permission
to adopt the rule of St. Augustine, the
dress of the monks of St. Ambrose ad
Nemus, with the black veil, and to have
a garden and cemetery attached to their
retreat, which then became a regular
convent. Each abbess was to be ap
pointed for three years, but Catherine
did not live to finish her term. Her
body remained uncorrupt and flexible
many years after death. Helyot, Hist.
Or<L Jfon., iv. chap. i>. Her name is in
the Calendar of the Order of St. Augus
tine. AJl.M.

B. Catherine Cll), O.S.D., nun in
the convent of Monteregio, at Siena.
fl4!»S. Pio.

St. Catherine H2), or CATTERINA
FiEsrm AIM.KNO, March 2<>, Sept. 14, 15,
March 22, of Genoa. 1447-i;>lo.

Represented holding a burning heart
and a crucifix.

For several centuries the Fieschi were
counts of Lavagna, and among the most
illustrious families in Italy. They wero
vicars of the empire, and, with other
privileges, enjoyed the right of coining
money in the republic of Genoa. Popes
Innocent IV. and Adrian V., as well as
many cardinals and famous Genoese
generals, were of this family. ( 1athorine'§
father was Giacomo Fieschi, viceroy of
Naples, under Kene of Anjou, king of
Sicily. From her infancy she was re
markable for her gentle and submissive
disposition, and from a very early ago
for her piety and self-denial. At
thirteen she wished to become a nun,
but when she applied for admission at
the convent of Our Lady of Grace, they

162

B. CATHERINE

would not receive licr becaust she was
too small aiid delicate. She then gave
lip for the time her project of a religious
life, to which her parents wero opposed,
and at sixteen was given in marriage to
Julian Adorno, a young nobleman, whose
ambition, extravagance, and profligacy
caused her much affliction. Her prayers
for him, her patience and her example,
at length converted him, and he died a
penitent of the Third Order of St.
Francis. When Catherine became a
widow, after ten years of marriage, she
resolved to dedicate herself to the service
of God, and after long deliberation
decided on choosing an active rather
than a contemplative life, and devoted
herself to the service of the sick in the
great hospital of Genoa, where she lived
many years as mother superior. She
tended the sick with the greatest kind
ness, and did not shrink from rendering
them the most painful and revolting
services. She extended her charity to
all lepers and other indigent and suffer
ing persons in the city, and employed fit
agents to discover and relieve them.
She died in her sixty-third year, Sept.
14, 1510. Both during her married life
and afterwards, she made it a rule never
to excuse herself when blamed, and took
for her motto a sentence from the Lord's
Prayer, " Thy will be done on earth, as
it is in heaven."

She wrote several treatises, the chief
of which are entitled respectively, " On
Purgatory " and " A Dialogue ; " the
subject of the latter is Divine love and
the happiness it imparts to the devout
soul. Baillet says that her writings
wero never thoroughly approved by the
Church — a fact which delayed her ca
nonization. Pope Benedict XIV '. placed
her name in the Roman Martyrohyy.
li. (Jutli'T/nd. Grnu< nsi* lllustrutn, Genoa,
liJSL', by Parpera the oratorian, contains
an account of her doctrine and a pane
gyric on her holy life. B.M. Sticker,
in AA.SS., Sept. i:>. Butler, Lin-a,
Sept. 14. Baillet, Vies.

B. Catherine ( i:i) of Genoa, one of
seventy-two nuns who died in the odour
of sanctity between 14;W and 171.~>.
They wero of the Order of St. Ambrose
and St. Marcelline, commonly called th-

Annunciation of Lombardy. Helyot,
Oi'fL Mon., iv. chap. in.

B. Catherine C14) of Eacconigi,
Sept. :>. 14SG - l.~)47. :ird O.S.D.
Catherine was the daughter of George
Mattei, a locksmith of Piedmont. At
the time of her birth her family were
reduced to great poverty by a war be
tween the Duke of Savoy and the Marquis
of Saluzzo. She made her first acquaint
ance with life in cold and penury, but
heavenly gifts and graces were bestowed
on her from her earliest childhood. She
had visions of saints and angels, and
commended herself especially to the
guardianship of St. Stephen, because in
the early Church he had the care of
women who were in need of alms. While
still a child, she received the Holy Ghost
four times iu visible forms, namely, of a
dove, rays of light, a cloud, and tongues
of fire. On the last occasion she made
her first confession, was absolved by a
saint, and received the gift of knowing
true from false visions. Between her
sixth and twenty-sixth year Christ
appeared to her three times, and married
her with a different ring each time. He
several times took her heart out of her
body and put it back ; once He kept it
forty-five days, during which she lived
without a heart, and with a great open
place in her side. She had the stigmata.
She described the personal appearance
of saints she had seen in visions. ST.
AGNES ( 2 ), she said, was little and plump,
with rosy cheeks and curly hair.
Although poor, she was very charitable.
She deemed it better to be without
clothes than without charity. At
thirteen she gave her chemise to Christ
under the form of a beggar, and He gave
her a beautiful white robe in its stead.
ST. CATHKKI.NK (Mi of Siena, who had
been dead more than a hundred years,
appeared to her as a beggar. Devils
persecuted her, disguised as men, beasts,
birds, and corpses. She was defended
against them and against sin by saints
and angels. She was taken to purgatory,
where she comforted the souls and felt
the fire. She also visited heavon and
hell, and recognized some of her friends
in each of the three places. She released
many souls from purgatory by her

U. CATIIKKIXK

103

prayers, and by the saino means saved
JUT native town from fire and storms.
She fought and vanquished a devil who,
under the form of a serpent, was carrying
off a wicked woman. She released and
converted the woman. She went great
distances to help those to whom she
could be useful. She was carried by
angels from place to place ; she once
went three hundred and twenty miles in
four hours. From this miraculous
I lower she was called by the peasants of
Piedmont La Mnxc<i \ <>. Sorceress] di
Di». She died at Caramagna.

Her life was written by Francesco
Pico della Mirandola, count of Con-
cordia ; he knew her well, and heard her
relate many of her visions. He died
before her, and his work was finished by
Father IVter Martyr, of Garescio, who
also knew her very well, and was only
a mile from her at the time of her death.

She has a double festival in the
Martyrology of her order. . I.//..V.
,n Siiiiita, published by the Fathers
of the Oratory. Pio. ( 'astillo.

B. Catherine (15; Tomas, April 1,
Aug. •'!. •{• 1574. Canoness, O.S.A.
1 >a lighter of Jacob Tomas and Mar-
quettu Gallart, honest peasants at Valde-
inuza, iii Majorca. She was brought up
to hard work in house and field. From
her seriousness and contempt of pleasure,
tin: neighbours gave her the nickname of
I "t> /' i-itiij the little old woman. At seven-
she entered the service of a noble
family in Palnm, win TO she was taught
ad ami embroider. Notwithstanding
her great piety and extraordinary asce-
ii«-ism. lack of dowry made it very diffi
cult for her to gain admittance to a
.-lit. At last that of St. Mary
Magdalene, of the Order of St. Augustine,
consent' d t » receive her. She had ecs-
.'• was attackt-d by the devil in
visible shape, s!. 'iccoured and

comforted |>y divers saints, she talked
with suuls in purgatory, prophesied future
<-v. nts, and wrought miracles. She was
:• d prim-ess of her convent, but im-
ni'-diati Iy r« M-jned. On her death the
inhabitants oi' .Majorca honoured her as
a saint for fifty years, wln-n a decree of
Urban VIII. forhade the public worship
ainis not recognized by the (1huivh.

An appeal was then made to Rome to
have the worship of Catherine legalized.
The process went on at intervals for
many years, until the decree of her beati
fication was promulgated by Pius VI. in
I 7 '.•!'. Her hat, thimble, and other relics
are kept as sacred, and her body is pre
served in a marble sarcophagus with a
glass front, and shown by the nuns of
her convent. Her name is in the Mar
tyrology of her order, A.R.M., April 1.
AJLJBS., Prxter., April :,. Bidwell,
llnl'-tirir Islands.

St. Catherine ( 1 u) Cantona. t ''•
1 ."• < t, of the rule of St. Charles Borromeo.
Represented holding a cross to which a
nail is fastened. Guenebault.

B. Catherine ( 1 7), or CATALINA CAR-
]>o\A,May 1 1, 12, IS, 21. 15111-1577 or
157!». A recluse of the Order of our Lady
of Mount Carmel. Daughter of Don
Ramon, a member of the ducal house of
Cardona, descended from the kings of
Aragou. She had a vision of her father
in purgatory; he told her his release
would bo the fruit of her penance. She
mortified and disciplined herself until
she obtained his deliverance. The Prin
cess of Salerno, a near relation, who took
charge of her on her father's death,
brought her to Spain, where ST. THERESA
(7) was beginning her reform; and
Catherine was moved to undertake the
life of austerity, of which Theresa speaks
with admiration. On the death of the
princess of Salerno, Catherine governed
the household of Ruy Gomez do Silva,
prince of Eboli, and had under her care
the Princes Don Carlos and Don Juan of
Austria. Carlos she could not influence,
but for Juan she always had a most tender
all'eetion. Ruy Gomez and his wife went
to see an estate he had bought. Cat la -rim-
bi-gged to accompany them. She did so,
and from their house in Estrenn m.
dressed as a man, she made her way to
the desert of La Roda, where she spent
many years in a small cave. Her only
< • 1 1 • 1 1 1 i n g was very coarse sackcloth . She
lived on herbs and roots, until a poor
>h« plu rd supplied her with bread and
meal. She used the discipline of a heavy
chain for an hour and a half or two hours
at a time. Sometimes she went half a
mile on her knees to Mass in a monastery

164

ST. CATHERINE

of the Mercenarians. The fame of her
devotion spread to such a degree that
she suffered much from the fatigue,
interruption, and crowding caused by
those who went to see her. There came
a day when the whole plain was full of
carriages. The friars of the neighbour
ing monastery were compelled to raise
her up on high, that she might give the
crowd her blessing, and so get rid of
them. She was so impressed by the
sanctity of St. Teresa, and the impor
tance of her reform, that, after eight years
of solitude, she left her cave to found a
monastery of Barefooted Carmelites. In
ir> 71 she went to Pastrana, where the
Prince of Eboli and the Duke of Gandia
had promised to found a monastery for
her. She took the habit of a lay-brother,
fearing that if she became a nun, she
would be deprived of her solitude and
extreme austerity. She had to go to
Madrid on the business of the foundation.
While there she continued to give her
blessing to the people. A good old man
did not understand it, and, somewhat
scandalized, he told the nuncio that he
had seen a Carmelite lay-brother in a
carriage with ladies, giviug his blessing
to the people like a bishop. The nuncio
was very angry, but on the circumstances
being explained, he left Catherine in
peace. At Madrid and other places the
people gave her funds, and in 1.572,
when she had obtained the licence, she
built a monastery over her cave. In a
trance in that church, St. Theresa saw
Catherine in glory, accompanied by
angels ; Catherine told her not to grow
faint, but to persevere with her founda
tions. Another cave, containing a solid
tomb, was made for her. There she
lived five years, leaving it only to be
present at the divine office. She died
May 11, 1577. In 16<>;> the monastery
was moved to Villanueva de la Jara.
The friars took with them the body of
their founder, and three years later they
laid it in a distinguished place in the
church.

St. Theresa calls her "the saintly
Cardona " and " that holy woman." She
is called " Saint " by some authors, and
was so considered in her own country
and community, both before and after

her death, but is not canonized. P.P.
St. Theresa, foundations.

St. Catherine (is), or SANDRIVA DKI
RICCI, Feb. 13. 1522-1589. :5rd O.S.D.
Sometimes represented with a crown of
thorns. Of an ancient family of Florence.
She was christened Saudrina, and edu
cated in the convent of Monticelli. In
1 .Ml.") she took the name of Catherine,
and became a novice in the convent of
St. Vincent, at Prato. While very young
she was appointed mistress of the novices,
and at five-and-t \venty, prioress.

This nunnery was built in K>(>2 by the
Dominicans of Savonarola's Convent of
St. Mark, in Florence. The nuns of
Prato were distinguished not only for
holiness, but for skill in the arts of
painting, sculpture, and poetry. The
Order of Preachers — commonly called
of St. Dominic — were exempted from
strict seclusion.

Fra Angelo Diacceto, prior of the
Minerva in Rome, had a great affection
for his niece Catherine, and was present
at her profession. He acted as a medium
for the intense interest which existed be
tween her and his friend Philip Neri,
and consequently between the holy com
munities of Dominicans at Prato and
Rome. One of the chief ties between
them was their ardent love and admira
tion for Fra Girolamo Savonarola. Ca
therine treasured relics of him, studied
his writings, and in a serious illness,
recommended herself to him, and was
cured. Her eager desire for the refor
mation of the Church in general, and of
the everyday life of Rome, also appealed
strongly to the heart of Philip. She
used to say, " That poor city of Rome !
what sins are committed there ! What
lives men live there ! " From corre
spondence by letter there grew up in the
hearts of these two saints a great desire
to see each other; but Philip had resolved
never to leave Rome, and Catherine was
a cloistered nun at Prato, and not likely
to travel. Yet they met in spirit, passed
some time in holy converse, and each saw
the face of the other as plainly as if they
were together in the flesh. This incident
is represented in a picture by Antonio
Marini, and is mentioned in the bull of
the canonization of Philip Xeri. There-

U. CATHERINE

10."

remain? but one of their many letters:
it is from Catherine to Philip.

Such was her reputation for sanctity
ami wisdom, that she was visited by many
of the great men of the day, among whom
three cardinals, afterwards popes,
namely. Murcellus II., Clement VIII.,
and Leo XI. She was one of those
nit <li;i val saints who had tho stigmata.
She had also a red mark on her linger,
Bed by the ring with which she was
usi <1 to Christ. Many saints ap
peared to her in her cell. She died
after a long illness, Feb. 2, 1">S«», and
was canonized by Benedict XIV. in
1744.

/.'. M. M> 'li ni Scuntt) published by
the Fathers of the Oratory. Capecelatro,
Lift- ,,/ St. Pl'.Hp Neri, ii. 2<>7, etc.
1 1- T letters were edited by Cesare Guasti
in l^(i'l. CiriHii Cattolica, series iv.
vol. ll\ p. :;7".

B. Catherine (!!>)• May <>. f i:>9t>.
A Dominican nun in tho convent of the
Mother of God at Seville, where she was
m side sub-prioress at a very early age.
>h" imitated the virtues of the great ST.
C.\niri;iNK Ci) OF SIENA, and had a
special gift for reproving kindly and
effectually. She was sent, with others,
to the convent of Maria do Gracia, to
instruct tho nuns; she was a great
favourite with her pupils, and during
h< r various sojourns in that convent, was
time times chosen prioress by them,
l)ii t the superiors of the order annulled
the elections, because they wanted her
for work in other places. She was sent
to reform the convent of Ubeda, to act
as prioress to that of St. Florentina do
Ecija, and to found that of Gibraleon.
She took with her her dear friend, Sister
INI; try <>f tho Cross, who was first prioress
there, and died in l.V.'.">. Catherine died
«>n the eve of St. John the Evangelist,
Dec.. !'•;, !:,!'•;. AA.SS., Prsetcr. Ka-
chack, l)«niiii'n'ii a \nii-.

B. Catherine <-'">, of Fingo, Sept.
1«>, M. P'L'J. A widow, aged forty-eight,
beheaded at Nagasaki, in Japan, on the
same day as Spinola was burnt. It is
said by I'SIL'-S that when her head was
cut off it rebounded three times, pro
nouncing each time the names Jesus and
Mary, i ,S" Lro FKKITAS.)

B. Catherine - L' i •, July r:, M. 1626,

Wife of a poor labour. T named John
Mino Tanaca. They were imprisoned
for six months, and then condemned to
death for lodging the missionary, Father
Torres. John was burnt and Catherine
beheaded at Nagasaki, in Japan. When
his bonds were destroyed he walked
through the fire to salute John Naisen
and his other fellow-martyrs. They all
expired invoking the Lord Jesus.
Authorities, same as for LUCY FUEITAS.

B. Catherine (22), Protector of
Canada. Her name among her own
people was TKGAHKOUITA. H)")0-1G7H.
A red Indian of the Iroquois tribe, born
at Gandahouague or Gandehouhague
( later, Cauhnawaga, a village in Mo
hawk canon, New York state ). Left an
orphan very young, and nearly blind
from the effects of small-pox, she lived
in the darkest corner of her aunt's cabin.
As soon as she was able, she did all the
hard work of the family. She first heard
of Christianity from some missionaries
who, travelling through the Iroquois
territory, lodged in her uncle's wigwam.
They were hospitably received, and
Tegahkouita was ordered to wait upon
them. The fervour and abstraction with
which they prayed inspired in her tho
desire to join in their worship. They
gave her what instruction they could in
the short time of their stay in the
village. Before long her relations
thought it was time she should be
married, and, without consulting her,
they chose a young man, and he, accord
ing to the custom of the nation, came
into the cabin and sat down beside her.
She had only to stay where she was to
be considered by her tribe tho wife of
this man, and this her uncle expected
her to do. But instead she got up
hastily and left the wigwam. Her
friends were very angry, and abused and
maltreated her, but she strongly objected
to marriage. While they were still
annoyed with her behaviour, a missionary
named Father do Lambervillo came to
tho village. All tho women were busy
gathering in tho maize, and ho found it
useless to attempt any preaching or
public instruction, as no one could attend.
Ho took tho opportunity to visit tho

166

B. CATHERINE

Louses and talk to the aged and infirm,
who could not come to the gatherings of
the community. In one of the wigwams
he found Tegahkouita, who was pre
vented by a wound in her foot from going
to the fields with the others. Ever since
the first visit of the missionaries she had
been longing to become a Christian, and
now she frankly told Father Lamber-
ville her wish. She said she would have
great obstacles to overcome, but that
they would not frighten her. He saw
in her one chosen by God, but his ex
perience among the Indians led him to
take many precautions before admitting
them to the sacrament of baptism. At
last, at Easter, ] 070, he found no further
cause for delay, and christened her by
the name of Catherine. He was
astonished to find in her so many saintly
qualities. Those who were least dis
posed to follow her example were struck
by her holiness, and for a time treated
her with great respect ; but by-and-by
her modesty appeared to the young
people of her village to be a reproacli to
the libertine life they led. They ridi
culed her, and threw stones at her on
her way to church, while her uncle and
aunt starved her and behaved very un
kindly to her. At this time a number
of converted Indians had withdrawn to
the Prairie de la Magdeleine, and
amongst these new settlers was a friend of
Tegahkouita's, whose husband helped the
missionaries assiduously. This young
couple made a plan to take her to join
them, but her uncle was greatly incensed
at the depopulation of his part of the
country, and tried to prevent any more
of his people from leaving the place.
In his absence the young man with a
friend came on a pretended hunting
expedition, and took her away with them.
The uncle soon heard of it, and ran
furiously after them, resolved to bring
her back dead or alive. He overtook
the two hunters, but they had hidden
the young convert in the wood, and after
some futile conversation he concluded
that he had been misinformed. Catherine
arrived in the Prairie de la Magdeleine
in October, I (177. Her friends had no
cabin of their own, but lodged with a
fervent Christian named Anastasia, who

devoted her life to the conversion and
salvation of women, preparing them for
baptism ; and here Catherine gave her
self, without reserve, to God, and took
giant strides in the path of holiness.
She had not received her first Com
munion, and it was the custom not to
grant it to neophytes, but to prepare
them by long trial. She expected to
have to wait like the others, but her
director soon discerned her fitness and
her fervour, and granted her this privi
lege, to her great comfort and to the
edification of others. Her best friends
urged her to marry, as it was until then
unheard of that an Iroquois girl should
remain unmarried. Even the mission
aries had never suggested such a thing,
but at last Catherine received permission
to make a vow of virginity, and was the
first of her nation who did so. The
neophytes were declared by the other
Iroquois to be enemies of their country,
and they expected to be frightfully
tortured should they fall alive into the
hands of their compatriots.

Her mortifications undermined her
health, and she became very ill. After
a long time of suffering she received
" the holy oils " on the Wednesday before
Easter, 1078, and she died the same
afternoon, aged twenty- four, at the Sault
St. Louis. Her exemplary life and holy
death caused a great increase of fervour
amongst the Iroquois of the Sault St.
Louis. Immediately after her death her
wasted features recovered their bloom.
Her tomb was soon a famous resort for
crowds of the faithful, who flocked there
from all parts of Canada. Those who
sought her intercession were singularly
favoured, and miracles encouraged the
general opinion which regarded and to
this day regards her as the protectress
of Canada.

The inhabitants of several of the
neighbouring parishes were in the habit
of assembling at the Sault St. Louis to
sing a Mass in her honour, although she
had not been canonized. A new parish
priest recently arrived from France
refused to conform, fearing to authorize
by his presence a public worship which
the Church had not yet permitted. All
his hearers said he would be signally

ST. CECILIA

16'

punished for slighting the saint, and
that very clay ho fell dangerously ill.
He understood the cause, and made a
vow to follow the example of his pre
decessors, whereupon he recovered.
There were martyrs of both sexes in
this persecution, but Tegahkouita is the
only red Indian worshipped as a saint,
and although she is not canonized, it was
found impossible to prevent her being
honoured and invoked as the patron of
Canada.

Charlevoix, Hiatoire H Description
<;.'n,'ral dc la Nouvrllc Fran

St. Cattula, CATULI.A.

St. Catula ( I ', March 24, M. in
Africa. AAJ3S.

St. Catula < '1 >, May 7, M. in Africa.
AAJ38.

St. Catula ( X ), June 2t>, M. at Home.
M<irt. of Itcichcnau.

St. Catula (4), CASTULA (8).

St. Catulla, CATALLA, or CATTULA,
March :'•!. Matron in Paris. Buried
>t. Uenis and his companions, A.D. 272.
Catulla walked beside St. Denis while
he carried his head to the place of
burial. Paul Lacroix, from a manuscript
of the fourteenth century, in the Biblio-
thejin; Xationale. AA.SS., Prsetcr.
1 5nt ler. Ferrarius calls her " Virgin."

St. Caw, Welsh. Mother of SS.

CAIN. CWYI.LOG, GWEXAFWY, PKILLAN,

TiiiiniKN, and several sons, all saints.

. 280.

St. Cazarie, CASABIA (1).
St. Cebedrude, or CEBETKUDE,

< il.r.r.TlirnE.

St. Cecilia ( 1 >, Nov. 22 (OJKHLIAJ

ChKi.v ), Y. M. 18n or 2: Jo. Patron of
music, musicians, and musical instrumont-
makers, and one of the four great patron
esses of the Western Church.

Represented ' 1 > with a caldron : ( '-' )
with an orpin <>r other musical instru
ment ; (8) witli si wreath of roses or
green leaves; «4) with an attendant
angel.

St. Cecilia was a noble Roman lady,
probably of the family of Cii'cilii Maximi
l-';ui>ti.' Her parents wero secretly
Christians, and brought her up piously.
She always carried a copy of the Gospels
concealed iu her clothes. She; c«»n:i
hymns and played on all instruments,

but finding none worthy to express her
devotion, she invented the organ, and
dedicated it to the service of God. Sin
was married at sixteen to Valerian, whom
she converted to Christianity. He de
manded to see her guardian angel, and
she sent him to St. Urban, who was con
cealed in the catacombs on account of
the persecution, and who completed the
conversion of Valerian, and baptized
him. Valerian, returning to his wife,
heard celestial music, and, entering the
room, saw an angel standing by her side,
with two crowns of everlasting roses,
which he placed on the heads of Valerian
and Cecilia, telling Valerian, as the
reward of his obedience to his wife's holy
advice, that he might ask what ho
would, and it should be granted. Vale
rian asked the conversion of his brother
Tibertins. This was promised, and was
brought about by the persuasions of
Cecilia. All three went about doing
good, until they attracted the attention
of the enemies of Christianity, when the
two brothers wero thrown into prison.
They converted their gaoler Maximus,
who was put to death with them, and
buried with them by St. Cecilia in the
cemetery of St. Calixtus, on the Appian
Way.

Almachius, the prefect of Rome, con
demned her to death, in the fear that
her rank, wealth, and charity should
promote the cause of Christianity. To
spare the ignominy of public punishment,
an executioner was sent to her house, a
common act of courtesy towards persons
of high rank under sentence of death.
She was to be stifled in her bath. She
suffered a whole day in the heat, but as
it did not even injure her, the man tried
to behead her. His hand, however,
trembled so that when he had inflicted
three strokes with his sword, as the law
did not allow a fourth, he was obliged
to leave her mortally wounded and
bleeding. She prayed that she miu'ht
live until she had bequeathed her house
and property to the Church. She lived
thus for three days, receiving visits from
the faithful, who eagerly collected her
blood as a holy relic, while she conversed
with St. Urban, and gave him her final
directions. St. Cecilia's is the only

168

ST. CECILIA

antique private bath existing tn Rome.
The bath-room is now a chapel in the
church of Santa Cecilia, in Trastevcre,
and here are still seen the metal pipes
for bringing in the water, a leaden con
duit for letting it off, and the furnace
underneath for heating the bath accord
ing to the method then in use. At her
request, Pope Urban, it is suid, dedicated
the house as a church before her death.
Around the original building a more
stately church was erected by Pope
Pascal I., when the bodies of SS. Cecilia,
Valerian, and Tibertius were found in
the cemetery now called by her name,
and forming part of that of St. Calixtus.
The body of St. Cecilia was wrapped in
a cloth of gold, or, according to some
accounts, a silken robe embroidered with
gold, and had linen cloths at the feet,
dipped in blood. In the same year the
body of Urban was found in an old
church near the Appian Way, and was
translated to the church of St. Cecilia,
which is still standing, but so modern
ized as to be deprived of much of its
interest.

Her name is in the Canon of the Mass,
in the oldest Martyrologies attributed to
St. Jerome, in the Breviary and Missal
of the church of Milan (4th century j,
and the Sacramcntary of St. Grey or i/.
Her legend is in every collection of Lives
of the Saints. Her Acta are not authen
tic, nor is there any very old authority
for the story that she was a musician.

R.M. Butler, Lives. Baillet, Vies.
Smith and Wace, Diet. Christian J>/<></.
Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Legendary Art.
Villegas. Leyycndario delle Sante Ver-
yini. Bede. Hemans, Monuments.

St. Cecilia (2), May :n, M. at Ge-
rona, in Spain. AAJSS.

St. Cecilia (8X M. :'><>4. (See Vic-

TOKIA OF AVITIXA. )

St. Cecilia (4), June 1, M. with ST.

AUCEGA.

St. Cecilia C>;, May 8, M. at Con
stantinople with St. Acacius. (See
AGATHA ('!).) AA.SS.

St. Cecilia ( 6), June 2. One of 227
Roman martyrs commemorated together
in the Martyrolooy of Si. Jerome. AA.SS.

St. Cecilia (7;, or CKCIKIA, July s,
M. at Sirminia, or Sirmia, in Pannonia.

Mentioned in St. Jerome's Martyrolvgy.
J. B. Seller, in AA.SS.

St. Cecilia ( S >, M. in Sardinia.
Patron of Cagliari. Cahicr.

St. Cecilia (t»)» companion of ST.
VKSTLA, honoured in Spain.

St. Cecilia M<>), GKGOHKUCA.

SS. Cecilia (11) and Benedicta
( l.'Ji, Nov. 10. Abbesses of Swestrens.
Bucclinus, from Trithemius.

B. Cecilia (12;, Aug. 4, o ; with B.
DIANA, June 1<>. O.S.D. 120 1-1 2'. HI.
First Dominican nun. ( 'ailed the first
plant of the Second Order, and the first
born of St. Dominic.

When, in 1217, St. Dominic went for
the second time to Rome, Honorius III.,
desiring that the Dominicans should
have a house there, gave him the church
of St. Sixtus, and had a convent built
adjoining it. At this time there were
many nuns living in Rome, without
" enclosure," and almost without regu
larity — some in small monasteries, and
some in the houses of their families.
Innocent III. ( 11H8-1216) had made
several unsuccessful attempts to assemble
them all in one house, under a uniform
rule of seclusion. His successor, Hono
rius III., instructed St. Dominic to bring
about this reformation, and, at his re
quest, appointed three cardinals to act
with him. In order to remove some of
the difficulties, St. Dominic offered to
give up his new convent of San Sisto to
the nuns, and to build a new one for his
friars at St. Sabiua. The monastery of
Sta. Maria, in Trasteverc, was the prin
cipal one where the scandal had to be
put down, and thither went the great
preacher and his three colleagues, and
exhorted the nuns with so much charity
and eloquence that first the abbess and
then all the nuns but one, volunteered
to accept the stricter rule and obey the
Pope. No sooner, however, had the
ecclesiastics departed, than the parents
and friends of the nuns came and re
monstrated, and told them they were
doing that in haste which they would
repent at lifelong leisure, that their house
was so ancient and honourable, their
conduct so irreproachable, their privi
leges so important, that they were by no
means bound to accept new rules, which,

ST. CECILIA

169

they known before they took tin-
veil, would have deterred them from
monastic life. Hearing all this from
their natural advisers, the nuns thought
their independence too precious to be
renounced, so they determined not to
submit. St. Dominic left them alone for
a few days, during which he fasted and
prayed and commended the cause to God.
He then went back to St. Mary's, said
Mass there, and afterwards addressed the
nuns with that wonderful gentleness
which no one could resist, asking them
if they could repent of an ofter they had
made to God, or refuse to give them
selves up to Him with their whole heart
and without reserve. The abbess and
all the nuns renewed their former
promise to him, and vowed to submit in
all things to the Pope's wishes. They
begged that Dominic himself would be
their director, and give them his own
rule. He agreed, and while the prepara
tions for their transfer to St. Sixtus
were in progress, he shut the gates, and
forbade their friends and relations to
come, with their worldly counsels, to
shake the pious resolution of the nuns.

Early in Lent, 1218, the abbess and
Bomo of the nuns — amongst them the
novice ( 'ccilia — settled down in the
convent of St. Sixtus. St. Dominic gave
them his rule and his habit. They were
in the chapter house, discussing the
tempor.il arrangements of the community
with St. Dominic and the three cardinals,
one of whom was Stephen of Fossa Nuova,
cardinal-priest of the twelve apostles,
when a man came running, in great
distress, to Cardinal Stephen, to tell him
that his nephew Napoleon had been
thrown from his horse and killed on the
spot. Stephen fell on Dominic's breast,
nimble to speak or shed a tear. Dominic
ordered the young man's body to be
brought in, and prepared to say Mass.
An immense concourse filled the church.
Dominic, while be held up the host, was
himself raised in ecstasy a whole cubit
from the ground, to the wonder and edi
fication of all present. Mass being over,
he went and stood by the dead body,
laid the injured limbs straight, shed
some tears over the young man, and
then, after kneeling some time in prayer,

rose and made the sign of the cross over
the corpse ; then, raising his hands to
heaven, and being at the same time
miraculously raised from the ground and
suspended in the nir, he cried aloud,
" Napoleon, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, I say unto thee, Arise ! "
That instant the young man arose,
healed of his bruises and perfectly well.
Cecilia loved St. Dominic with great
devotion ; he regarded her with fatherly
affection, calling her his eldest daughter.
At the age of seventeen, she was the first
nun who received the veil from his hands.
She is therefore regarded as the first
Dominican nun. She was an eye-witness
of several of his great works. The Nar-
rativ ' of B. Cecilia is one of the most
important sources for the history of St.
Dominic ( Mamachi, Annals O.P.).

The Dominican nuns of San Sisto
were removed by St. Pius V. to the
stately monastery of Magnanapoli : it
became a very favourite convent for
ladies of the highest rank. When the
convent of St. Agneso at Bologna had
been built by B. DIANA DEGLI ANDALO,
Pope Honorius went himself to the
convent of San Sisto, and, having ex
plained to the nuns how much it grieved
him to send any of them out of Rome,
said that nevertheless he wished that
four of them should go to Bologna to
instruct the new community there in the
rule of their blessed founder. He
desired them, in the name of the Holy
Spirit and of holy obedience, to hold a
council among themselves and choose
the best among them for this pious work.
They obeyed, and chose four who had
received the habit from the hands of St.
Dominic. Two of these wore B. Cecilia
and B. AMATA. They went to the new
convent in Bologna in \'2'2'.\, two years
after the death of their founder. ( Veil in
did her duty there with groat fervour
and energy for many years, and at last
became infirm and decrepit and died,
being nearly ninety years of age.

Michele Pio, Pt;-dicat<>ri. AA.SS.
I'.utlei, tiv<>8 of tin l-',ill,,r8, "St.
Dominic," Aug. 4.

B. Cecilia <i:'» of Gubbio. (See

f il-ANAIA. )

St. Cecilia (14) of Sweden, Aug.

170

B. CECILIA

lit). •(" l.'Ii't'. Fourth and 'youngest
daughter of ST. BRIG ID of Sweden, and
sister of ST. CATHERINE of Sweden. Her
life and that of her mother were in
extreme danger at the time of her birth,
but, owing to the direct intervention of
the Virgin Mary, both were preserved.
The Virgin Mary appeared again shortly
afterwards to St. Brigid, and exhorted
her to show gratitude by bringing up
her children piously and virtuously.
Brigid therefore contemplated making
Cecilia a nun in the convent of Schening,
but Cecilia married twice, and, as a
widow, spent her life, like Tabitha, in
doing good to the poor. Vastovius,
Vitis AquUonia.

B. Cecilia ('!.">) of Ferrara, Jan. 2.~>,
O.S.D. •(• l.">07. Contemporary with
another Dominican, B. CECILIA ( 1 G ) of
Ferrara. This Cecilia was very young,
and is said by her biographer not to
have known what sin was. She prayed
to have her purgatory in this world, and
obtained that grace through the inter
cession of B. BEATRICE, one of her fellow-
nuns. Accordingly she suffered much
from ill health. She broke a blood
vessel on the chest, and was confined to
bed for six months, and became extremely
thin. During her illness, she endured
great temptations of the devil, though
he had never assailed her so fiercely
when she was in health. She prayed to
St. Catherine that she might be married
to Christ, which prayer was answered,
for after her death a ring was seen on
her finger by B. Calimeto and another
holy friar of Spain, although by no one
else. She was very constant in the
devotion of the rosary, and the B. V.
MAKY showed her acceptance of this
service by causing her hands to smell
of roses after her death. She is not
canonized. Serafino Razzi, Prwliriitnrt.
Pio, Uoinint.

B. Cecilia ( 1 <> ) of Ferrara, March 7,
May 4, Dec. !!».' i:.ll. O.S.D. At
the beginning of the K>th century there
were two Cecilias, in two convents of
St. Catherine at Ferrara ; they were both
of the Order of St. Dominic, and both
considered saints in their own city and
order. One convent was under the
patronage of ST. CAT^ERINK ( 1 ) ; the

other of ST. CATIIKKIXE ($). To dis
tinguish one set of nuns from the other,
those of the convent of St. Catherine (1 )
the Martyr were called "Le Martiri,"
and those of the great mediaeval Siennese
were called " Le Sanesi." The elder of
these two Blessed Cecilias was born about
the middle of the J .">tb century, and had
in her early years no thought of becoming
a nun until a holy man foretold to her
that such was her destiny. Believing
his words, she opposed her parents' wish
for her marriage until they insisted so
much that she had to give way. She
married a good young man, rich in virtues
as well as in worldly goods. After eight
years of married life, in 1 4S(>, they parted
by mutual consent. He became a monk
in the convent of St. Dominic, and she
a nun in that of St. Catherine the Martyr.
She lived there thirty years, and was
three times prioress. She set an example
of great virtue and piety during her life,
and wrought miracles after her death.
During part of the time that Cecilia was
one of the Martiri, the community was
ruled by B. ANTONIA OF BRESCIA, in
whose Life Cecilia is mentioned, Oct. 27.
AA.SS., P.B.

St. Ceciliana, Feb. l ti, M. in Africa.
AA.SS.

St. Cecilus, CELEDONIA.

St. Ceciria, CECILIA (7).

St. Cecra, Oct. 1<> (CACRA, CEREA,
ETERE ). 3rd or 4th century. M. with
27<> others in Africa, or at Tripoli in
Asia. AA.SS.

St. Cectamaria, ETHEMBRIA.

St. Cefronia. FEHKOMA is honoured
by the Ethiopians under this name.

St. Ceinwen. Granddaughter of
Brychan. Possibly same as ST. KEYS A.
Some churches in Anglesea are dedicated
in the name of Ceinwen. ( Sec ALMHEDA.)
Rees.

St. Celadoine, CHELIDONIA.

St. Celedonia, or CECILUS, May 7,
M. in Africa. AA.SS.

St. Celerina (D, Feb. .">, M. at
Carthage, early in the :>rd century, with
her son, St. Laureutinus, and his brother-
in-law and fellow-soldier, St. Ignatius.
These martyrs are mentioned in several
of the epistles of St. Cyprian, bishop of
Carthage, to Celerina's grandson, St.

ST. CERCYHA

171

Celerinus, deacon ami confessor. There

was a church at Carthago early in tlio

;>th century, whose dedication was in the

name of St. Celerina. .11. XX. Baillet,

Smith and Waco, Christian R'H«J.

St. Celerina < -' >, Sept. -js, M. in

Africa. -1.1. XX.
St. Celesta, April Hi, M. at Rome.

.1.1. NX.

St. Celestina ( 1 ). DIGS A ( 1).

St. Celestina i •_' >, April •'>, V. M.
< Commemorated with eight hundred other
martyrs in the collegiate church of St.
Mary at Utrecht. Henschenins. AA.^ ^

B. Celestina (3), one of the nine
sisters of ST. IXAINFIIKIU:.

B. Celeswintha, GALSWIXTHA.

St. Celine, CII.IMA < I i.

B. Celsa. (8eeJhnax*Km

St. Cenburg, QUENBURGA.

St. Cenedlon, a saint on the moun
tain of Cymorth, probably near New
castle, in Kmlyn. Daughter of Brychan.
S Ai.MiiKi'A. i Rees.

St. Cenen, KEYNA.

St. Centolla, August 18, V. M.
•1'robably time of Diocletian. St. Cen
tolla was put to the torture to induce
her to renounce the Christian faith. ST.
Jh:ii:\ ( '2 ) (called in some accounts a
widow ) came and stood by, and com
forted and encouraged her in her deter
mination. Centolla answered, " See that
you also bo of good courage, for you are
soon to bo put to death for Christ's sake."
And so it happened, for these things
lii-ing told to the governor, ho had them
both beheaded, lest the number of the
Christians should increase. Some ac
counts say Centolla was a native of
T. >ledo. In the 1 :5th century their bodies
were translated with great honour into
tin- cathedral of Burgos. KM. vLl.s\
I 'ollandi.

St. Cephinia, TKYPHONIA.

St. Cera, Jan. .">, Oct. 10 (Cm-:i:\,
<'HIKI:, ClABA, CYI:\ . '_' , KI\I:\ , V.
Ahh.-s. i;th or 7th century.

I'ndi-r thcso nix names, and perhaps
inure, and at dates a century apart, two
famous virgins of the early Irish Church
an- hiiiniiin-d. They are often confounded
'her, and it may be that only one
saint is commemorated, and that mis
takes in the monastic records have placed

her sometimes in one century, sometimes
in another. Supposing, with Lanigan,
that there were two, the accounts are as
follows : —

I. At Muscraig, in Momonia, a great
fire, with a horrible smell, broke out
from the earth. The people applied to
St. Brendan to save them from this
plague and terror. He told them to go
to ( 'era, by whoso prayers they should
be delivered. They went to her. She
prayed, and the fire disappeared.

II. The other St. Cora, or Cyra, was-
the daughter of Duibhre, or Dubreus, of
the blood of the kings of Connor. When
St. Muniia, or Fintan Munnu, had lived
five years at Heli, a virgin named Chierr
attended by live other virgins, came to
him, and asked for a place where they
might serve God. He and his monk&
gave up their abode and the work of the
place to the nuns, and went away, taking
necessaries for the journey in a cart
with two oxen. He gave his blessing to
Cera, but told her the place should not
be called by her name, but by that of the
man who, on that day, made three jubi
lations in Agro Miodhluachrec, /.<'. St.
Telle, the son of Segen. The place was
called Tech Tello. Cera died i»7'.;. < >m
of these SS. Cera founded and governed
a famous monastery of nuns at Kilchere,
or Kilcren. Colgan, Irish Saints. AA.SS.
/;/•/'/. Xancta. Bucelinus, Men. Ben.
Lanigan.

St. Cercyra, April 2'.», V. M., c. 100,
at ( 1orfu. SS. Jason and Sosipater con
verted many of the people of Corfu to
Christianity, and were therefore cast
into prison, with seven robbers who were
among their converts. The robbers
were then thrown into a caldron full of
burning sulphur and pitch. CKIU M; \.
the daughter of Cercilinus, king or
governor of ( )orfu, looked secretly out at
the gate to see the torments of the
Christian martyrs. She was BO impressed
that she immediately embraced the same
faith. Her father, enraged, gave her to
a savage Kthiopian, from whom she was
• Irl'rmk'd by a bear. Whereupon, the
Kthiopian was converted, and, declaring
himself to bo a Christian, was put to the
sword. St. Curcyra was suspended over
a lire until she was nearly choked with

172

ST. CEREA

smoke, and was then pierced with arrows
and crushed with stones. She is com-
memorated with St. Saturninus, the chief
of the seven thieves. Men. of Basil.

St. Cerea, CKCKA.

St. Cerentia, Aug. in, M. AA.SS.

St. Cereta, April 27. f c. 1324.
Nun, O.S.A. Disciple of B. CLARA OF

Mo.NTKFAlJ'O. AA.SS.

St. Cerille, or CICERCULA, honoured
from time immemorial in a church of
Berry. Migne, Die. Hag. Chatelain,
French Mart. Possibly one of the SS.

St. Cerona (1 ), CORONA.

St. Cerona (2), Nov. 10, Feb. 3.
•f 400.

Eepresented in a nun's dress, holding
ii book in her left hand, to imply that
she brought the gospel to the district
where she settled.

Cerona was born at the village of
Cornillan, near Beziers. She fled with
her brother Sophronius from the house
of their heathen parents. With great
fatigue and trouble they arrived at
Bordeaux, where they got the bishop to
instruct and baptize them, and in time
to confer holy orders on Sophronius and
the sacred veil on Cerona. They were
maligned by some wicked people, who
said they were not brother and sister,
tut concealed an unholy love under the
pretence of relationship. So they decided
to separate. Sophronius went to Rome
to visit the tombs of the Apostles, and
died in odour of sanctity. Cerona went
northward, and, after many dangers,
arrived in the diocese of Seez about 440.
Here she built a little cell, in a solitary
wooded place near Mortagnc, between
the ancient town of Mont Cacune and
the hill of Mont Komigny. Some pious
women gathered round her, and with the
•consent of Hile, bishop of Seez, she
founded for them the first monastery in
that diocese. She built two chapels or
oratories near, one of them on the spot
where now stands a church called by
her name. She worked very assiduously
at the conversion of the inhabitants to
Christianity, building one of her chapels
on a spot where they used to practise
heathen rites as part of their funeral
ceremonies. In her old age she became

blind. To help her to visit her two
oratories every day, she had wire
stretched from one to the other, that she
might guide herself by taking hold of it.
Children and shepherds several times
mischievously broke this wire ; it was
as often miraculously joined again. She
died Nov. 1 :,, 41»n. P.B.

St. Cerose, SICILDIS.

St. Cerota, or CKI;<>TK, SICILDIS.

St. Cesarea, May i:>, V. Born at
Villa Franca, in Calabria. Her father
was a rich man named Aloysius. His
beautiful wife, Lucretia, on her death
bed, obtained from him a promise that if
he married again, he would choose a
wife equal to her, not only in beauty but
in piety. None such could be found,
except her daughter Cesarea, whom
accordingly Aloysius wished to marry.
Cesarea, like ST. DYMPXA of Gheel, fled
from her home to avoid so horrible a
crime, and took refuge in a cavern near
the sea, which could only be approached
in calm weather, and even then was very
difficult of access. Here she lived in
holy seclusion and performed miraculous
cures, before and after her death, by
means of a sulphurous fountain in the
cave. AA.SS.

St. Cesaria (l), Nov. 1, at Rome.
Mart. Rcichenau.

St. Cesaria (2), March 25, M.
Migne.

St. Cesaria (a), Jan. 1 2, V. Abbess.
•J" c. r>3<>. Sister of St. Cesarius, arch
bishop of Aries, a man of great holiness
and charity. Cesaria was born late in
the fifth century, and brought up in a
nunnery at Marseilles, probably that
founded by Cassian. Cesarius became
archbishop of Aries in ,">ol, and soon
afterwards built a monastery there, with
a very large church, for his sister and a
community of nuns, of which he ap
pointed her the head. He worked at the
building with his own hands. The house
was at first called St. John's, but after
wards came to be called by the name of
its first abbess, St. Cesaria. In r>07
Aries was besieged by Theodoric, king
of Italy. Cesaria and her nuns fled to
Marseilles, and their house was destroyed.
When peace was restored, Cesarius re
built the convent. The nuns returned,

ST. CHELIDONIA

173

and there Cesaria dietl, in :»:!M. Slio
was succeeded by another Cesaria, who
was living twelve years afterwards, at
the time of the death of the good arch
bishop. By his will, which is extant,
he left all his property to the nunnery.
The rule which St. Cesarius drew up for
the nuns may be read in his Life, by the
Bollandists. It was afterwards changed
in this monastery for that of St. Benedict.
Butler, " St. Cesarius," Aug. 27. Bariug-
<!ould. AA.SS. Baillet.

St. Cesaria (4), CASARIA (1).

St. Cessia, Nov. 1, M. at Terracina,
with seven women and eight men, at the
en 1 of tho 1st century. Mentioned in
th" old martyrologies. AA.SS.

St. Cetamaria, ETHEMBRIA.

St. Cethuberes, or CETHUBRIS,

Km KM I-.IMA.

St. Cetumbria, ETHKMBKIA.

St. Chaphte,OrClIAPTHE,AGATHA(l).

SS. Chariessa, or CARIESSE, Chris
tiana < 1 ), or CHRISTINA ( 2 i, Basilissa
( -i i. Galla, Gallena, Lota, Nunechia,
Calis, Nice, Tertia, and Theodora,
April lt». :>rd century. These saints
were taken to Corinth and made to walk
to the seashore. Chariessa sang psalms
and hymns loudly the whole way. They
were put on board ship and, when thirty
stadia from the land, a stone was fastened
t > the neck of each, and they were all
thrown into tho water. AA.SS.

St. Charis, or CARIS, Jan. 2H, M.
Tin TO is a Greek distich saying that
wh'-n her feet were cut otf she ran to
li» uven, her soul being more nimble
when her body was lame. Date unknown.
AA.S8.

St. Charisia, CARIBIA (1).

St. Charissima, CARISSIMA.

St. Charitana, or CAHITAINE, June
12, M. sit Koine.

St. Charitina < I i, Oct. .">, Jan. 15,
M ;it Amisus, in Pontus, about 304.
J 'at ron of Venice and Carthagena.

Represented i I i with an angel extin
guishing a funeral pile ; ( 2 ) with a pair

of tollgs.

Charitina was servant to a Christian,
nani<:d Claudius, who was much grieved
when In.- was ordnvd to deliver her up
to J)oinitius. 0DM6I under Diocletian;
but .she comforted him, and said she

would offer her life as a sacrifice for his
and her own sins. He begged her to
pray for him in the heavenly kingdom.
Burning coals were strewn on her head,
and after other tortures she was thrown
into the sea. She considered that would
stand in the place of baptism. She was
not drowned but came safely out of tho
water and stood before her persecutor,
who inflicted various tortures ; finally
her teeth were pulled out and her fingers
and toes cut off, and she died of exhaustion.

E.M., Get .5. Men. Basil, Jan. 15.
.1.1. NX. Tin- Bollandists, in t In -ir sir-count
of this saint, say there is another ST.
CHARITIXA, Sept. 4. Husenbeth,/Jm6/t'ms.

St. Charitina ( 2 ), Oct. .">. A mem
ber of the family of the dukes of Poland.
Married Theodore, a Russian prince.
After his death she became a nun in the
convent of SS. Peter and Paul. Date
uncertain. Annual commemoration in
some places in the province of Novgorod.
Grseco-Slav. Calendar. AA.SS.

St. Charito, June 1, V. M. c. 167,
Scourged and beheaded at Rome, with
St. Justin and two other Christians. A
short account of their trial and execution
is given in Greek and Latin by Pape-
broch, from ancient judicial Acts. Tho
narrative differs from many of its class
in that it contains no miracles, no theo
logical argument, no denouncing of the
judge or officers of justice by the
prisoners, no wholesale conversion or
destruction of spectators or executioners.
AAJS3.

St. Charity (1> See FAITH, HOPE,
and CHARITY.

St. Charity (2), Dec. 2:>. Abbess at
Bethlehem. Ferrarius.

St. Chatte, AGATHA.

St. Chelidonia, Oct. i:J (CELADOINE,.
CHKI.ADOINA, CLARIDONIA, CLERIDONA),
V. Anchorite. "f 1 1 ~>2. One of tho
patrons of Subiaco. Born of a good
family in the Abruzzi, singularly pious
from her earliest childhood, she lived
nearly sixty years as a recluse among
the mountains near Subiaco. After sho
had begun her solitary life, she made a
pilgrimage to Rome. On her return, sho
took tho voil,in tho convent of St. Scholas-
tica, at Subiaco. Instead of remaining
there, sho spent the rest of her life iu

174

ST. CHELIXDRA

her hermitage. People used 4o send her
food, and when they neglected her she
was fed by ravens, like Elijah. Many
persons resorted to her to be cured of
•divers diseases. At the hour of her
death, a great light appeared around the
place, so that people thought there was
ft frightful conflagration, and some feared
the convent was on fire. Bucelinus says
she was born at Cellis, in Calabria ; ho
calls her Claridonia, abbess of Subiaco.
There is a fresco of her in the monas
tery ; on the dress is a curious inscrip
tion, scratched apparently by a chaplain
of Pope Pius II. ( 14:>S-14(J4), when he
was celebrating Mass there. jR.Jf.
AA.SS. Hare, Cities of Italy, p. 43.
Bucelinus, Men. Ben.

St. Chelindra, or QUELIXDRIS, V. M.
Formerly honoured at Utrecht. Guerin.

St. Chendechildis, THEODECHILD.

St. Chera, CERA.

St. Cherie, PULCHERIA.

St. Chiara (' 1 ), Italian for CLARA.

St. Chiara (2;, CERA.

B. Chiaretta. (See ILLUMINATA (2).)

St. Chier, CERA.

St. Childechinda, CHILDECHINDIS, or
€HILDERADA. "f 080. Daughter of
Chilperic I. by his first wife, ST. AUDO-
VERA. Banished in her infancy, with
her mother, to the monastery of Le
Mans, where she spent nine years very
piously, and was put to the sword by
order of the wicked Queen Fredegund.
Her murder is supposed to have procured
her the crown of martyrdom. The snow
of her innocence, adorned with the blood
of her martyrdom, was more glorious
than the purple robes of royalty. Buce
linus, Men. Sen. Wion, Lignum Vitse,
lib. iv. cap. 28.

St. Childemara, HILDKMAR.

St. Childerada, CHILDECHINDA.

St. Childomerga, HILDEMAR.

St. Chilsuinta, GALSUINTHA.

St. Chimoia, Feb. .">, M. in Japan.
AA.SS.

St. Chinedrithae, KYXEDKIDK.

St. Chinesdre, KYXEDUIDK.

St.ChinreachaDercain,V. Abbess.
Mentioned in Life of ST. ITA. Identified
with KAIRECHA, called also DERCAIN.
Erroneously identified with Kuxi;i;.\.
O'Hanlon.

St. Chionia, sister of A<;APE ( :j) and
IKKXE.

St. Chlodsendis, GI.«U>MSIXD.
Chlotichilda, CLOTILDA ( I i.
St. Chonta, QI-IXTA.

St. Choticlia, COTII.I \.

St. Chottia, COTII.IA.

St. Chreme, CARISSIMA.

St. Chresta, CHRISTA.

St. Chrischona. (See CUNIGUND (1).)

St. Christa ( 1 ). (See CALLISTA ( 1 ). )

St. Christa ( 2 ), CHRESTA, or CRASTA,
June 4. M. in Cilicia, or Sicilia, i.e.
Sicily. AA.S8.

St. Christeia, CHRISTIE.

St. Christes, V. Daughter of ST.
THERMANTIA (q.v.).

St. Christeta, M. (See SAHIXA and
CHRISTETA.)

St. Christiana (1). {See CHARIESSA.)

St Christiana (2), Feb. <;, M.
AAJ38*

St. Christiana 0*)» Dec- J'~» (CHRIS
TIANA - ANCILLA, CHRISTIANA - ESCRAVA,
CHRISTIANA-CAPTIVA, etc.). 4th century.
A Christian captive who converted the
Iberians. R.M. Butler. She seems to
be more generally called Xixo.

St. Christiana (4 ). EM. EUMA.

St. Christiana (">), or CHRISCHONA.
( Ser ( VXKCUXD ( 1 ).)

B. Christiana ( «>.), ORINOA.

St. Christiancie, companion of ST.
URSULA. Baillet.

St. Christicola, June ii», V. M.
Companion of ST. URSULA. Her /- /<'
held at Prague this day. AA.SS.
Prfcter.

St. Christie, or CHRISTEIA, honoured
in the diocese of Auch. P.B.

St. Christina ( 1 ), July 24, V. M.
c. 3(»2. Patron of Torcello in Venice,
the Venetian States, Bolsena, Paternio,
of children at Orleans.

Represented ( 1 ) holding arrows or a
book and an arrow,— a square furnace with
flames coming out of it stands near her,
in the distance a tower on a hill, sepa
rated from her by a lake ; (2 ) tied to a
pillar and shot with arrows ; ( •'> ) a mill
stone by her side; (4) with serpents.

Christina was so called after her con
version to Christianity ; her former name
is unknown. She was the daughter of
Urbanus, a Roman patrician, governor

ST. CIIKISTIXA

17.-

of the town of Tyro, which stood on an
i-lund in the Lake of Vulsiniura, m»w
Bolsena. Urbanus shut her up in a tower
with twelve maids, who were charged to
bring her back to the worship of the
gods. Having no money, she broke her
father's gold and silver idols, and gave
the pieces to the beggars. Her father
therefore ordered her to be beaten and
thrown into a dungeon, where angels
comforted her and healed her stripes.
She was next thrown into the lake with
n millstone round her neck. Angels
held up the stone, and floated her safe
to land. UrbanuR had a fire lighted, and
put her iu it. She remained five days
unharmed, singing praises to God. He
then had her head shaved, and dragged
her to the temple of Apollo, intending
to compel her to sacrifice. As soon as
she looked upon the statue of the god,
it fell down before her, and her father
fell dead from wonder and rage. His
successor, Julian, heard Christina sing
ing in her prison. He had her tongue
cut out, whereupon she sang better
than ever. Then ho shut her up in a
dungeon with serpents, but they could
not harm her, so ho had her bound to a
tree and shot with arrows ; and thus she

The Spanish version of the story of
St. Christina contains horrid details of
her martyrdom, and fierce reproaches
interchanged between her and her father.
When Julian had her tongue cut out,
she took it and threw it in his face and
put out his eye.

It has been believed in some times and

places that ( 'hristina had the privilege

of restoring one person to health each

<lay. Consequently it was the custom to

commend a sick person to her as soon as

ihle after midnight, that her favour

might not bo already bespoken. The

Church of K'ome retains the worship of

this saint, but condemns this practice

.1:1 i-lhr superstition, and forbids the

;id t.. b<- r.-ad in the churches.

Sin i> said to have been only eleven
years old at the time of her martyrdom.
This is doubtlea the reason she is con-
sid.-re.l one of the patron saints of chil-
dn-n, and adopted as the patron of the
Congregation of Ste. Chretienne for

I Mucation, founded at Metz in l>i»7 by
IConatigneai Jaufi'ret, bishop of M» t/.

JR.Jf. AA.SS. Mrs. Jameson. >'<//,,,/
innl L>,/<>nd(iry Art. Fl<>* S'nirtnrm,,.
Villegas, who quotes Bede, Ado. and
Usuaidus. Baronius, Annales. V
Jiasil. llutler. Baillet. Leytjendario <L-l'l,
Siuttr \',-niini. Thiers, Traite den &//.•
siitinni, i. 2.">S i 1 777 ). ( 'ahier. Hus.-n-
beth.

St. Christina i *l 1. ( Set' CHARIKSSA. )

St. Christina ( •'» ), May :>n, M. burned
at Nicomedia. with a great multitude of
Christians. Papebroch, in AA.SS.

St. Christina (4), March i:j, V. M.
in Persia. li.M.

St. Christina (•">) of Brittany, June
17. tlth century. Called TIXAIK KKISTNA,
or SANK TE CHKISTIKXNE DE BKETAGNK,
devoted servant and disciple of the blind
St. Hervey or Houarne ( June I 7 >. Mas
Latrie and Guerin call her his sister;
but, according to Villemarque, Letfrude
Celtique, she was still young when, in
his extreme old age, he gave her his last
commands and blessing, and died before
the altar, in his own little church. < 'hris
tina served and obeyed him to the last
moment of his life, and then she lay
down at his feet and died.

St. Christina < <'», July i>:>, i_'<;. stb
century. Patron of Dendermond, in
Brabant, where her relics are kept in
the collegiate church. Legend says she
was the only child of Migranimus, a
heathen king of England, and his Scotch
wife Marona. They had been childless
for many years when this daughter was
born. She grew up good and beautiful.
Her father built a temple of Venus and
placed her in it, with seven maids to
take care of her. One day a pilgrim
beggod for alms in the name of Christ.
She asked who Christ was; this led to
her conversion and baptism. The French
Mdrtyrology says she was taken across
the sea, by an angel, to Dickelven on
tin- S< lieldt, to lead a solitary life; was
martyred and buried there, and trans
late! to Dendermond in the following
erntury. The Amihrtti ,//'/•/* /',.„/
iii. p. |s;j4, calls her daughter of King
Ti -i^aminus, and says she was led by an
angel into Scotland, and tbciico to !'•« 1-
ginm, where she could worship God

170

ST. CHRISTINA

better in a poor little but tbafl in marble
halls. AA.SS. Brit. Sane. Martin.
Guerin.

St. Christina (7), Nov. 2<>, Sept. 7,
Dec. .">, Aug. 1 1 , March JJ, V. "f about
1100. Abbess of liomsey. Daughter of
Prince Edward, and of Agatha, who was
a nun with her at Eomsey. Grand
daughter of King Edmund II. of Eng
land. Sister of ST. MAHGAKET, queen of
Scotland. She educated her nieces EDITH
or MATILDA, queen of England, and Mary,
countess of Boulogne. She compelled
them to wear the dress of nuns, but they
did not take monastic vows. Memorial
of Ancient British Piety. Bishop Forbes,
Kalendars : Anahcta, iii. col. 1 8M4. Buce-
linus, Men. Ben., Aug. 11. Ferrarius.
Wion, Lignum Vitse. Eckenstein.

St. Christina (8), May 18. 12th
century. Queen of Sweden. Of the
Stenkil family; her father was Biorn
of Denmark; her mother, Catherine,
daughter of St. Ingo IV. and ST. KAGN-
HILD, king and queen of Sweden (1118-
1129). Christina married first, Jarislav
Haraldson, prince of Holmgard ; and
secondly, Eric IX., called " The Saint,"
and "The Lawgiver" (1155-1161 ac
cording to Haydn ; 1141-1151 according
to Butler) ; also called Henry, a Swedish
nobleman, son of lad ward. He assisted
Ingo to conquer the Finns, and sent St.
Henry, bishop of Upsala, an Englishman
and friend of Nicholas Breakspear, to
instruct the people and convert them to
Christianity. Henry is therefore called
the Apostle of Finland, where he fell a
martyr to his mission. On the death of
King Swerker, or Smercher, Eric was
chosen king on account of his virtues
and prowess. Eric was content with his
own property; he levied no taxes, and
would not even accept the third of the
confiscations, which belonged to the kings.
He collected the laws into a code for his
people, and won their lasting affection
by his wise and upright rule. His
cousin, Henry Scateler, son of Sueno,
king of the Danes, claimed to be heir to
the throne of Sweden through his mother,
and having raised troops and bribed some
influential persons among the Swedes,
devised the death of the unsuspecting
saint. While Eric was hearing Mass on

Ascension Day, his attendants came an<3
told him that the hostile army was
near, but he would not go out to battle
until the Mass was ended. Then he
went bravely against the enemy, and was
killed or taken alive, fighting, and be
headed next day. On the spot where ho
fell, a spring of water arose, which works
marvellous cures. He is regarded as a
martyr of justice and order. He was
the chief patron saint of Sweden until
the Reformation, and is still remembered
with affection. His tomb is preserved
undefaced, and King Eric's code is re
garded with respect. Christina survived
many years in great sanctity. She left
two sons and two daughters, of whom
Knut was afterwards king of Sweden,
and Margaret was queen of Norway.
Vastovius, Vitis Aquilonia. Butler and
Baillet each give the Life of St. Eric,
but do not call Christina, or her parents
or grandparents, saints. Her worship is
probably local ; it is mentioned in Ana-
lecta Juris Pontificii, iii. 1884. Benzel-
stierna's History of Sweden, by Olof
Dalin, ii. p. 127, Dahnert's German ver
sion. Vita S. Erici, in Fant and Anner-
stedt, Script. Her. Suecicarum.

St. Christina d»), July 24, "the
Wonderful." f c. 1224, V. Sometimes
represented in a font. She was the
youngest of three sisters living at St.
Trudonopolis (St. Tron), in Brabant,
On the death of their pious parents the
three divided their labours thus: the
eldest was to pray, the second to keep
the house, and the third to keep the
sheep. Soon Christina, the shepherdess,
fell ill and died. Next day she was
carried to the church amid the lamenta
tions of her sisters and the sympathy
of their friends. While the Mass was
being said for her repose, she sat up on
the bier, and then went like a bird on
to the rafters of the church. All fled
in terror except her eldest sister. At
the end of the Mass, Christina was com
pelled by the priest to come down. She
returned home with her sisters, and was
refreshed with food. She told her
friends that immediately after her death
she was taken by angels to purgatory,
where she saw souls, many of which
were those of persons she knew, suffering

ST. ClimsTINA

177

such dreadful pains that she thought
tin's must be hell. She was then shown
hell, where also she recognized some of
her friends. Afterwards she was taken
to paradise, where God welcomed and
oongntelftfted her on her arrival, and
bade her choose whether she would
remain with Him in heaven for ever,
or return to earth for some years and
suffer, that her sufferings might avail to
release all the souls she had seen and
pitied in purgatory, and also, by a life
of penanco, convert many persons still
living in the world. She chose, with
out hesitation, to go back and suffer.
She added that her friends must not bo
astonished at the wonderful things that
would happen to her, as they were
ordained by God.

From this time Christina fled from
the presence of her fellow-creatures with
horror, and abode in desert places, in
trees, or on the tops of towers or churches.
People thought her possessed of devils,
and caught and bound her repeatedly,
Imt in vain ; she always escaped again.
When she was suffering from hunger
she would on no account return home,
but prayed God to mitigate her suffer
ings. In answer to her prayer she was
enabled to live on milk from her own
breast for nine weeks. She used to go
into hot ovens, and scream as if in tor
ments, but always came out uninjured.
She threw herself into boilers full of
boiling water, and while remaining
there some time she screamed and
groaned, but no trace of scalding or
burning was visible on her body after
wards. She held her hand in the fire,
spent days in icy water, she was bitten
by dogs, went round in a mill-wheel,
hung herself on a gibbet under the
corpses of robbers, and spent some time
in graves. Once in an ecstasy she span
round like a wheel, uttering an inarticu
late song. She ran so fast that a man,
who was employed to catch her, had a
v«-ry long run, and at last knocked her
down witlt a blow of a stick, which
broke her shin. Sometimes she wonld
roll herself up in a ball like a hedgehog.
When her clothes were worn out she
begged others of any one she met; if
her gown wanted a sleeve, she begged

a sleeve, and did not mind if it was of
another colour. If she received bread
bought with unjust gains it caused her
the most agonizing pain. If any on.
in the town died whom she believed to
be damned, she screamed and howled,
and twisted her arms and hands as if
there were no bones in them. People
thought there was something demoniacal
in her wish for death, and her horror
of her fellow-creatures. Her sisters had
her chained to a pillar, believing her
to be mad or possessed of devils. When
she had broken loose repeatedly, and was
tied tighter, and had sores from the
tightness of her chains, oil that flowed
from her breasts made a healing oint
ment for her wounds, and also served
her for food. Then her sisters wept,
and thought only the special inter
ference of God could have wrought this
miracle. They prayed, and so did many
persons who came to see the miracle,
that Christina might bo able to live
amongst other people. Their prayers
were heard. Soon after, she went into
a church, and, finding the baptismal font
open, she immersed herself entirely in
it; after this she was better able to
endure the presence and the smell of
human beings.

One day, being providentially con
ducted by extreme thirst to the table of
a very wicked man, who was sitting at a
sumptuous banquet, she asked for some
thing to drink. The sinner was moved
with a feeling of unwonted pity and
charity, and entreated her to drink some
wine. She then foretold, much to the
surprise of all who knew the man, that
ho would die penitent and pardoned.
She had a kind of second sight, by which
she saw battles and deaths that wn-e
happening at a great distance, and con Id
discern good people from bad. She
foretold the fall of a nun of the convent
in her native town, also the taking of
Jerusalem by Saladin.

Alter a time she left her own people
and joined a recluse, named Ivetta,
Vetta, or Juera, at Los, or Loen, on tho
borders of Germany. There she fre
quented the church, singing like ;m
tingel at night, when all the other people
bud gone away. She knew if the clergy

178

B. CHRISTINA

of that church had any secretrfault, and
she used to reprove them with respect
ful childlike affection. Louis, count of
Los, had a great reverence for her, and
called her " mother." When he was guilty
of any injustice she afflicted herself about
it as if ho were her own son, went to
his palace, remonstrated with him, and
obtained a reversal of his unjust decree.
When he was dying ho sent for her,
confessed to her all his sins from the
time he was eleven years old, and en
treated her to pray for him; he then
disposed of his worldly goods according
to her advice. He died, and she saw
his soul taken to purgatory and horribly
tormented. His spirit returned to en
treat her help, and she promised to take
some of his suffering for him. She
visited the places where he used to sin,
and those where he amused himself with
the vanities of the world, and wept
bitterly for him.

Towards the end of her life she again
took to living in desert places, only
coming at rare intervals among her
fellow-creatures to get food. No one
dared to ask her any questions. At last
she returned to St. Tron, and made the
convent of St. Catherine her usual abode.
The venerable Thomas, priest of St.
Tron, watched her secretly when she
thought herself alone in the church.
He saw her throw herself like a bag
of dry bones before the altar, and beat
herself, and heard her revile her body
and lament with tears and sobs that she
was joined to it. After an interval of
silence she began to laugh, and, taking
her feet in both her hands, she kissed
them, and said, "Oh, sweet body, why
did I abuse and maltreat you, who have
suffered so many torments with so much
patience in obedience to the spirit ? "
Then she kissed h«rself all over. She
continued her life of grief, lamentation,
and privation until very shortly before
her death, when her strength was ex
hausted, and she was wasted to a shadow.
At her request, Beatrice, one of the nuns
of St. Catherine's, made a little bed for
her in her room. There she remained
for a time, and then, feeling death
approaching, she asked for the sacra
ments. After she had received them,

Beatrice fell at her feet, and begged
that before she died she would reveal
certain things to her. As she did not
reply, 1 Beatrice thought she was medi
tating on something else, and presently
left Christina alone in the room. Be
fore she returned Christina died. Bea
trice threw herself on the body, asketl
Christina why she had departed without
taking leave of the sisters, and conjured
her, by the obedience she had always
shown her in life, to return and answer
her questions. Christina therefore re
turned to life, and, after affectionately
reproaching Beatrice for recalling her
from the realms of bliss, bade her make
haste and say what she had to say, that
she might depart finally to her rest.
When Christina had answered all Bea
trice's questions, the nuns, who had
meantime gathered round, took leave of
her, and consigned her, with prayers
and blessings, to her third death. Her
body was translated a few years after
wards, and miracles were wrought at
her tomb.

AA.SS. Her Life by Thomas Canti-
pratano, O.S.D. Preger, Dcutsclic Myxtik.
Azvedo. Vaughan.

B. Christina (KM, or CHRISTIANA,
Jan. 21. -f 1 258. Daughter of Bernardo
di Suppone, a nobleman of Assisi. A girl
friend of ST. CLARA (2) of Assisi, living in
the same house. Christina went, in 121 :},
to St. Francis, who was living in the
convent of St. Mary of the Angels, and
received from him the habit of the
Minors. She joined Clara at S. Damiano,
outside Assisi, and went with her, in
1210, to build, at the Fontc di Carpello,
a village near Foligno, a convent called
Sta. Maria di Caritate (St. Mary of
Charity), or della Salute (of Salvation),
and after two years she returned to St.
Damian's, where she lived for forty-four
years with the saint, and survived her
five years. Jacobilli, Santi ddl' Umbria,
iii. 44n.

St. Christina i 1 1 ), daughter-in-law
of ST. AGATHA, grand-princess of Russia.

St. Christina < 1 2 i, June 22, V. Of
Stumbela, or Stommeln, in the diocese of
Cologne. O.S.D. Born c. 1240; t !•"!-
or i:;i:>, aged seventy. Daughter of
Heinrich Bruso, a peasant. At ten

B. CHRISTINA VISCONTF

17!)

years old Christ appeared to her in a
dream, and bade her belong to Him
only. She was so impressed with the
splendour of her vision that she lost all
bodily feeling for three days, and novel-
rested until she joined the I'.eg nines.
At thirteen she went to Cologne, un
known to her parents. When her mother
found her, and entreated her to return
1 101 no, she would not. The Beguines
advised her to go, but she said she pre
ferred to sutler hunger and poverty alone
with ( 'hrist rather tban live in comfort
with her parents. She fasted rigorously
and prayed much. After two years of
this life, wonderful temptations befell
her. The devil used to take the form of
St. Bartholomew, and advise her to kill
herself. For six months she suffered
from a constant desire to commit suicide,
to which succeeded temptations to doubt

tin points of the Catholic faith.
Her doubt of the presence of Christ in
the sacrament of the altar was removed
by a miracle in answer to her prayer, for
ut the elevation of the Host she saw in
the hands of the priest a little child,
who said to her, <; I am Jesus."

Next came illusions. When she was
going to eat she saw a toad, a serpent,
or a spider on the bread or other food.
Her disgust at it was such that she could
not eat. In this way she suffered
severely from hunger. A priest, fearing
she would die of inanition, advised her
to put the food in her mouth, notwith
standing her disgust. As soon as she
did so, she felt on her tongue the cold
body of a reptile, and excessive sickness
was the consequence. If she had broth,
she fancied it was full of worms, and
when she was going to drink, she heard
a voicj from the cup saying, "If you
drink me, you drink the devil." Her
parents wi re angry with her for leaving
them against their will. The Beguines
thought she was mad and epileptic, and

tantly ridiculed her, thinking she
an'ueti-d to be considered pious. When
she had been with them for five years,
they sent her back to Stommeln, where
she lived lor many years, still wearing
the dress of a Beguinc. She had bleed
ing from the nose and mouth, and other
bodily ailments, and used to remain

rigid and apparently insensible for days
and sometimes weeks together, during
which she had visions, sometimes of the
Passion of Christ. She was tempted by
the devil with false consolations, and
with persuasions to longer fasts and
severer penances than it was possible
for so fragile a creature to endure.

Her Life is one of the longest in the
T.ollandist Collection, and is chiefly
taken up by her extraordinary tempta
tions and her combats with devils.

In 1261* she was marked with the
stigmata, which her biographer, Peter of
Dacia, a Dominican friar of Cologne,
declares that ho and other credible per
sons saw. She had many ecstasies. By
her sufferings she released the soul of
her mother and several others from pur
gatory. Christina's body was translated
to Nideck, and afterwards to Jiilich.
She is commemorated at Jiilich, in the
diocese of Cologne, and claimed by the
Dominicans as a member of their order.

Her Life in the AA.SS., from con
temporary authors, and partly dictated
by herself. Her Life, by Peter von
Dacieu, brought out in German by Wol-
lersheim, from the MS. preserved at
Jiilich, and extensively quoted in Preger's
Deutsche Nijxlil; <hr j////' l<tlter.

B. Christina (i:>) Visconti, Feb.
14. Of the Third Order of Hermits of
St. Augustine, f c. 14."):;. Of the noblo
family of the Visconti of Milan. To
avoid marrying, she fled from homo with
a confidential maid-servant. She assumed
the black habit of the Augustinians, which
did not wear out in ten years of very
hard usage. After living several years
hidden in the woods, eating what they
could find, they stayed some time in
Rome, and visited the holy places ami
sacred relics with great delight and
devotion. They then went to Assi^i,
where a great festival was to be held,
and an indulgence granted in the church
of the Portiunctila. There the crowd
was so great that Christina was pushed
and crushed, and could hardly get away,
and lost her companion. She sought her
in vain all over Assisi, Spoleto, Moutc-
falro, Rome, and many other places.
SI ie spent nearly a year at Spoleto with
a pious woman, from whom she had

180

B. OR ST. CHRISTINA

received hospitality on her first jfturney to
Assisi. Christina helped her to tend the
sick, all the time macerating her own
body for penance. She drove a nail
through her foot, that she might feel the
sufferings of Christ. She tied her head
to the wall, that if it nodded during
sleep she might immediately be awak
ened. She died of fever, aged twenty-
two. She was credited with miracles
both before and after her death. Hen-
schenius, AA.SS., says that a contempo
rary Life of Christina was written by
Coriolanus. Her Life, by Cornelius
Curtius, 1630.

B. or St. Christina (14), Feb. 12,
Jan. 18. Of Aquila. "f 1543. Of the
Order of Hermits of St. Augustine.

Matthia Licarelli was born of humble
parents at Lucolo, in the territory and
diocese of Aquila. Pious and self-deny
ing from her earliest years, she would
not wear ornaments or have any trim
ming on her clothes. She disfigured
herself with long fasts, and, thinking
herself still too pretty, she would not
wash her face for months. In 14i»6, by
special direction of Christ, she took the
veil in the convent of St. Lucy, of the
Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine,
and with it the name of Christina. She
had a little picture of St. Mark, which
she prized very much. One of the nuns
asked for it. Christina was very sorry
to part with it, but thought it would be
wrong to refuse. A few days afterwards
St. Mark appeared to a painter named
Silvester, who was painting a picture of
that apostle. He bade him finish it with
great care and diligence, and give it to
Christina, and it was kept in her convent
long after her death, and called B. Chris
tina's picture. She was a very fervent
novice, and was chosen prioress at an
unusually early age. Gregory XVI.
approved her immemorial worship. Her
Life, by Cornelius Curtius, Cologne,
1636. Torclli, Sccoli Auyustiniani, viii.
L'67. P.B.

B. Christina (i.">) Lubomirska.
17th century. A beautiful Polish lady
of the same noble family as B. SOMHA

LlTBOMIUSKA.

In the family gallery of the Lubo-
mirski at Jauow, near Warsaw, Christina

is represented ( I ) as a child, with her
foot tied to the leg of a table as a punish
ment or to keep her out of mischief;
( L' i as a girl, kneeling in an ecstasy
before an altar in her room.

She was sister of Stanislaus Lubomir-
ski, called, on account of his learning,
the Polish Solomon ; and of Jerome
Lubomirski, who was a companion of
King John Sobieski in his victory over
the Turks in 168.V She married Felix
Potocki. Christina had a rare talent for
music and great skill in needlework.
She pricked her finger with a golden
needle, and, gathering up the blood on a
pen, she wrote with it her resolution to
lead a saintly life. She founded several
convents, and was distinguished for
charity and all other virtues. Her con
fessor wrote her Life, and called her a
saint. Journal of Countess Krasin^Jci.

Ven. Christina (\ <> ), Jan. 31. Born
at Cagliari, JS1'2; -f 1S30. Queen of
Naples.

Mary Christina Caroline Josephine
Gaetana Ephisia of Savoy, daughter of
Victor Emmanuel I., king of Sardinia.
Wife of Ferdinand II., king of the
Two Sicilies. Mother of Francis II.,
last Bourbon king of Naples. She had
been married nearly four years when she
died, fifteen days after the birth of her
only child, and was buried in the Francis
can church of St. Clara in Naples. Very
pious and amiable all her life, she dis
tinguished herself by two reforms in the
society over which she presided. She
would not suffer any detraction, swear
ing, improper stories or conversation at
her court, nor would she allow any lady to
appear there in the excessivelylow-necked
dresses which were then too fashionable.

Pope Pius IX., in 18.V.>, declared her
Venerable, and signed the decree intro
ducing the cause of her canonization.
In 18<)r> the Congregation of Rites ap
proved the fame of sanctity attached to
the virtues and miracles of this venerable
servant of God, and the Pope confirmed
their judgment. The cause was again
before the congregation in 1S73.

A short Life of her written in Italian
and translated into English and French.
Dlario dl ll<»n«. (ii«rna1e di JKomo,
Civilta Cattolica.

ST. CINTHIA

181

St. Christschon, CUNIGUSD • i;.
St. Chrothildis, CLOTILDA.
St. Chrysai l i, or CHI^HDA, Aug. 24,
V. M. at < 'stilt. Also called AVKKA.

AAJB&

St. Chrysa ( 2 ), ZLATA.

St. Chrysanthiana, Feb. IT, M. at
llonn- with many others. . I. !.>'>'.

St. Chrysida, CHKYSA i I i.

St. Chuchannic, SUSANNA.

St. Chunegund, CUNEGIM-.

St. Chunhild, GUNTILD.

St. Chuniha, CI-NEGUND (3).

St. Ciara, CKRA.

St. Cibba, TIBBA.

St. Cicely, CECILIA.

St. Cicercula, CEUILLE.

St. Cilinia < i », Oct. 21 (Cm. INK.
CM. ISA . .">th century. Wife of Emilius.
They were of noble family among the
Gauls, and of great piety. They had
three sons — St. Principus, bishop of
-ons ; another, who was father of St.
Loup, bishop of Soissons after his uncle ;
and, in their old age, St. Remi, arch
bishop of JJheims, who, in 41M5, baptized
< 'lovis, the first Christian king of the
Franks. (Sec CLOTILDA (1).) R.M.
Baillet, Vieg. AA.SS.

In the Chronicle of Baldwin of Ninove,
it is related that Montanus, a blind
monk, foretold the birth of Remi, and
when his prophecy was fulfilled, he re
ceived sight by having his eyes washed
with the milk of Ciliuia. Chron. Belycs,
ii. i '•!'."•.

St. Cilinia < 2 ), Oct. 21 (('KLINE, cor
rupted into 1-iin.MA), V. Born at Meaux,
about 4:;:>; •(• before 530. Confided to
ST. (iKNKYii.vi: her wish to lead a re
ligious life. A young man to whom she
was betrothed would not release her from
her engagement. One day, when the two
saints were walking together, ho pursued
tin-in. They took refuge in a church.
On his following them there, the doors
of the baptistery opened at the prayers of
(M nevirve, and closed again the moment
the two girls had entered, leaving
( 'ilium's lover terrified and converted.
( 'ilinia led an exemplary life in Gene-
vi. vi •'- Msterlioo.l. .l.l.X.s'. Lomaire,
\'if >!< >'/. . (i. ,i< r /'//•/ . I'.J!.

St. Cillonia, May 2>, M. at Home.
AAJ38.

SS.Cineria <>r Kr.NNi:u/,or KMKKM >.
V., Triduana, and Potentia accom
panied St.; Iirgulus from Coloese, when
he took the relics of St. Andrew to Scot
land. 8th century. Forbes, Knl< //'/"/>

St. Cinna, Fob. 1 (CINNE-\<>I:M. i.«.
Holy Cinne, CINNIA, KINNA, KINMA,

Ul« HELLA, RlCHINNE, Rl-ClNNE, i.e. Royijl

(.'in ne). ">th century. ST. HINNA ( '_' i
is perhaps the same. Only daughter of
Helm, or Echadius, king of Orgiel, or the
land of Neil, in Ireland. Her father
would only consent to her taking the veil
on condition that St. Patrick promised
him eternal life without compelling him
to be baptized. St. Patrick promised,
and, about 480, Ciuna was placed under
the care of ST. CETAMAUIA, at Druim-
cluehan, co. Tyrone. She lived there
many years, and wrought miracles both
during her life and after her death.

King Echu, being at the point of death,
sent for St. Patrick, and gave strict
orders that he should not bo buried until
after the arrival of the saint. St. Patrick
lived at Sabal, near Down, two days'
journey from Echu's residence, but was
miraculously informed of his death, and
set out to visit him before the messenger
arrived at Sabal. Ho was distressed
that the king, to whom ho had promised
eternal life, should have died unbaptized,
but he prayed in faith, and the dead man
returned to life, was instructed in tho
Christian religion, and baptized. Ho
told Patrick that ho had seen the happy
place prepared for him in heaven, but
had not been allowed to enter because
he had not been christened. Patrick
then asked him whether he would remain
longer in tho world to which ho had
been miraculously restored, or go at
once to tho place of the blessed. Ho
chose the latter, and died again in p<
having received the Eucharist. St. Cinna
is sometimes said to bo sister of St.
Patrick, but this opinion is rejected by
tho best authorities. Colgan, AA.SS.
Lanigan, Eccl. Hist. Ii-<l«u<l.

Cinnenum, KIUIKI.LA, or KICHENNA.

Mother of several bishops, priests, and

«1« aeons. Called a sister of St. Patrick.

DAHEHCA (1;.; Compare with ST.

CKNNA.

St. Cinthia, Feb. s, V. M. in one

182

ST. CIONIA

of the early persecutions. Represented
( 1 ) being killed with a sword ; ( 2 )
crowned with thorns, and holding a lily,
— near lier a cross and a skull. Guriic-
bault. Diet. Icon.

St. Cionia ( 1 >, July :\ M. at Constan
tinople ; supposed in the time of the
Emperor Yalens. AA.SS.

St. Cionia ( 2 ), CHIOMA, etc. (Sec
AGAPE.)

St. Cipia, perhaps ST. COPPA.

St. Ciwg, KEW.

St. Clara (1), GEGOBEUGA.

St. Clara (21 or CHIARA, Aug, 12, V.
c. 11!>2-1 "2 .">:>, called the Seraphic Mother.
First nun of the 2nd O.S.F., known as
Clarissans. Patron of the O.S.F. ; of
Iglesias, in Sardinia ; of gilders, em
broiderers, washerwomen, and ironers.
Invoked against sore eyes.

Represented ( 1 ) as a mm holding a
pyx or a lily ; (2) on the rood screen in
North Elmham Church, with a chaplet
of flowers in her hand, and a crown of
lilies on her head. Husenbeth mentions
a French engraving, in which she ap
pears trampling on a scimitar, while a
Turk lies at her feet, a cross planted in
his turban. She is the symbol of piety ;
ST. CATHERINE (\) of wisdom, and ST.
MARY MAGDALENE, of penitence.

Clara was one of three or more beau
tiful daughters of Favorino Sciffo, or
Ciffi, and B. ORTOLANA his wife, wealthy
citizens of Assisi. She was at the most
impressionable age when the preaching
of Francis of Assisi, his numerous con
versions, and his love of poverty were
attracting a great deal of attention and
beginning to revolutionize religious life.
She longed to see and speak with the
man who, in the bad and frivolous world,
was pointing out a new way of salvation.
He had heard of her angelic qualities,
and wished to see her. She already
wore a cilicium, and gently but success
fully opposed the plans of her parents
to settle her in marriage. The two
saints met and consulted, with the result
that Clara resolved to be a nun. On
the night of Palm Sunday, 1212, in gala
dress, she left her home, by a door that
had long been unused, and was barri
caded with wood and stone. Accom
panied by a woman, she went to the

Portiuncula, where Francis and his
monks, in solemn order, met her with
lighted lamps in their hands. Francis
gave her the rough woollen gown and
rope of the order, in token of the poverty
to which she was henceforth dedicated,
and then gave her into the charge of the
Benedictine nuns of St. Paul's. Her
friends and relations tried to persuade
her to return. She answered that Christ
had called her to His service, and showed
them that her hair was cut off, in proof
of her determination to take the veil.
They then tried to drag her away by
force, but she held so fast by the altar
that their efforts were unsuccessful.
They regarded the poverty and lowuess
of a mendicant order as degradation to her
and disgrace to themselves. But Clara
had caught the spirit of her teacher, and
shared his admiration for poverty, and
her resolve was not to be shaken.

St. Francis soon removed her to an
other Benedictine nunnery — St. Angelo
of Pansa, near Assisi. There she was
joined by her sister AGNES (17). St.
Francis gave them a poor little new
house close to the church of St. Damian,
outside the walls of Assisi, and ap
pointed Clara the superior. Soon the
action, which had at first provoked
scandal and universal reprobation, was
regarded as a holy example, and the
twro sisters were joined by their mother
and sixteen other ladies of their kindred
and acquaintance, three of whom were
of the great family of the Ubaldini of
Florence.

Abstinence, silence, and extreme
poverty were the distinctive features
of the Order of Poor Clares. When
St. Clara inherited great wealth from
her father, she distributed it all to hos
pitals and poor persons, and kept nothing
for her sisterhood, desiring to live on
charity. She washed the feet of the lay-
sisters when they returned from begging.
All the nuns went barefooted, and slept
on the bare ground. So great was the
sympathy and friendship between the
brethren of St. Francis and the sister
hood of St. Clara, that Francis warned
his monks lest, God having deprived
them of wives, the devil should be found
to have given them sisters.

ST, CLARA

IV,

' St. Francis often visited ( 'lara. teach
ing and advising her, while ho lived at
the Portiuncula, and she and her nuns
at St. Damian's. Sim often entreated
him to dine with her. He always re
fused, until his disciples remonstrated,
representing to him that Clara had re
nounced the world through his preach
ing, and was, therefore, his spiritual
daughter, and that he ought to do this
little kindness to one BO holy and so
evidently beloved of (iod. Francis
therefore confuted to invite Clara to
dine with him. He thought she would
like to see »g:iin the church of St. Mary
of the Angels, where she had made her
monastic vows, so ho ordered a, feast to
be prepared there. On the appointed
day scjme of the brothers went to St.
1 ) . Lillian's to fetch (Mara and one of her
companions: "Before dinner they looked
at the church. The table was spread
on the ground, according to St. Francis'
custom. Clara sat beside him, and her
friend sat beside one of the brethren,
i Francis began to speak of God so
well and so sweetly that they forgot the
things of the earth. The people of
Assisi and the surrounding villages saw
that the church and the wood, which
then came close up to it, were wrapped
in flames, but when they came to the
place they found nothing burning and
nothing injured. They went into the
church, and saw Francis and Clara and
their companions sitting round their
humble table. Then they understood
that the fire was the love of God burn
ing in the hearts of His saints. Clara
returned to her nuns, to their great
comfort ; for they had begun to fear that
Francis might have sent her to preside
over some other convent, as ho had
already sent her sister Agnes to Monti-
<-elli,in Florence; they remembered that
ho had once bidden Clara prepare her
self, lest he should want her elsewhere,
and she had said she was ready to go
wherever he might wish. Clara was
twenty-seven at this time, ami Francis
about ten y.-ars ol.I'-r.

When Francis die<l. ho was carried
from the I'ortiuncula to the cathedral.
The multitude — who gloried in having
their fellow-citi/.en honoured as a, saint.

and his holy relics buried amongst them
—were more glad to possess the body of
a saint than sorry that his gentle spirit
had departed. When the procession
camo to the church of St. Damian's, the
bier was set down in the chancel, that
Clara and her companions might once
more look upon the face of their Father
Francis. Clara kissed his hands, saying,
" Father, father, what will become of us
now? Who will comfort us?" The
nun who owed her conversion to him,
and who had sympathized in his troubles,
could not join in the exultation of the
people.

Clara's austerity destroyed her health
and deprived her of the use of her limbs.
She ruled her convent forty-two years,
during twenty-eight of which she was
paralyzed, and used to sit and spin flax
of wonderful fineness. She died Aug.
11, IL'.V'..

Her wisdom and piety were widely
known. Among the miracles recorded
of her, it is told that once when she had
only one loaf, she gave half of it to the
friars, and, on her blessing and dividing
the remainder, it was found to be enough
to feed her whole community. Her
convent was once attacked by a baud of
Saracens, who formed part of the army
of the Emperor Frederick. The nuns
came in terror to their .Mother, who was
now old, and had not walked or stood
up for years. She instantly rose up,
took the pyx from tho altar, placed it
on the threshold, and, kneeling before it,
sang with a loud voice tho psalm, " Thou
hast rebuked the heathen." The terrified
Moors throw down their arms and fled.

Innocent IV. visited her immediately
before her death, and finding she had
already received tho last sacraments,
gave her tho apostolic benediction and
plenary absolution, lie and all his court
attended her funeral service, contrary to
tho custom of Popes. Tho Franciscan
monks wore beginning to sing tho usual
Mass for tho dead, but tho Tope stopped
them, and suggested that the Mass of a
sainted virgin would be more appropriate.
Tho Cardinal-bishop oi ( >stiu represented
that it would bo ^irregular, and a bad
precedent thus to canonize her immedi
ately after her death. He preached her

184

B. CLARA

funeral oration, and when he succeeded
to the pontificate as Alexander IV., he
canonized her in due form two years
after her death.

She was first buried at St. Damian's,
but in 1 20i » was translated to St. George's,
within the walls of Assisi, where the
Pope had built a new convent for her
nuns. In 120.") a new church was built
there ; her body lies under the high
altar, which was consecrated in her name
by Clement V.

She is regarded as the founder of more
than twelve monasteries of her order in
Italy, and of many built during her life
in Germany and other countries. Many
princesses became Poor Clares. ST.
AGNES, daughter of the King of Bohemia,
consulted her about a nunnery of the
order, which she built at Prague, and
where she took the veil.

For extracts from Clara's letters, see
AGNES OF BOHEMIA.

Branches of her order are The Urban-
ists, or Mitigated Clares, so called in
distinction from the Poor Clares, Capu-
chinesses, Annunciades, Conceptionists,
Cordeliers, or grey sisters, Recollects,
and the austere reformation in Paris
called the Ave Maria.

There are eighty-five canonized saints
of the three orders of Franciscans,
besides St. Francis himself; of these,
five are Clarisses — St. Clara, St. Agnes
of Assisi, St. Catherine of Bologna, St.
Colette, St. Veronica.

The commemoration of all saints of
the Order of St. Francis is on the 2(,»th
of November.

R.N. Butler, Lives. Baillet, Vies.
Mrs. Jameson, Sacred and Legendary
Art, and Let/ends of the Monastic Orders.
Montalembert, Moincs d1 Occident. Vil-
legas. Vogt, Franciskus. Magliano,
Franciscan Order. Wadding, Annales.
Adam King. Mrs. Oliphant, Francis of
Assisi. Little Flowers of St. Francis,
edited by Cardinal Manning.

The family of the Counts of Fiumi of
Assisi still exist, and are proud of their
relationship to St. Clara.

B. Clara (3) Ubaldini, Feb. 27,
called in the world MADONNA AVVEG-
NENTE. j- 1 204. Abbess of Monticelli.
Daughter of Azzo degli Ubaldini. This

ancient and literary family were lords
of the greater part of the province of
Mugello, and gave twelve Saints, Blesseds,
and Venerables to the Church. Clam
married the Count Gallura dei Visconti,
of Pisa, brother of Ubaldo, the archbishop
who founded the Campo Santo at Pisa,
in 12( H>. She had several children, one
was Nino, mentioned by Dante. On the
death of her husband, she left her children
to some relations, who promised to take
care of them. She took the veil at
Florence, in the convent of Sta. Maria
di Monticelli, then ruled by ST. A<;xi:s
SCIKFO. Clara had given the land on
which this convent was built, in 121(.»,
in the village of St. Vito. Many noble
ladies, following her example, retired
from the world," among the rest her two
nieces, BB. JANE and LUCY UBALDINI.
Avvegnente took the name of Clara, and
succeeded Agnes as abbess when, in
12f)o, she was recalled to Assisi to help
her sister CLARA (2), who was ill. St.
Francis spent a whole Lent in a cell not
far from this convent, and left his old
gown to the nuns, as they made him a
new one. St. Clara (2) left them her
veil at her death. Both were kept with
great veneration.

The country was in a state of war,
and the sisters found themselves too far
from town to get alms or protection, so-
it was resolved to build them a better
house nearer the city. It was built near
Porta Romana alle Fonti. Fifty nuns
were taken there in procession, with the
mantle of St. Francis, the veil of St.
Clara, and the stole in which St. Francis,
as deacon, had read the Gospel. Bells
rang of themselves, and continued ring
ing, until the bones of the nuns from the-
old cemetery had been deposited in the
new one. One day there were no pro
visions. The cellarer came in distress
to Clara, and by her advice knelt before
the cross and said, "Lord, for love of
you I took these keys, having denied my
own will to follow yours, trusting that
you would always give me what was
necessary. Now I have nothing. . . »
Do you provide for us." While she was
yet speaking, a knock was heard at the
door, and twenty-five pounds of silver
were presented by an unknown person,

ST. CLARA

185

immediately disappeared. Clara
was abbess for about ten years, and died
Feb. L'7. 1L'»>4. Brocchi, Santi e Bwiti
I-'"i-' nt in /. Razzi, Etruscan Saint*. She
is mentioned in all the accounts of the
rise of the Order of St. Francis, and in
the Life of St. Clara of Assisi. Hen-
schenius, AA.SS. Boll., Pru-tn-.. writing
in the 17th century, did not consider her
worship authorized.

St. Clara <4), Aug. IS, V., called
Si. CLARA op THE CROSS, and OF Axiui.
U7.*)-i:i08. Abbess and patron of
Montofalco. Of the Order of Hermits
of St. Augustine.

I i'i -presented (1) holding a pair of
scales, and a heart pierced with three
wounds or cut open and showing the
instruments of the Passion of our
Saviour J (2) with a lily in one hand,
and three balls or coins on the palm of
the other, — sometimes the balls arc on
the scales, two on one, and one on the
other.

She was born at Monte Falco, a little
town about ten miles north of Spoleto.
Her father's name was Damian, her
mother's Jacquelina. She had an elder
sister Jane, who, though scarcely more
than a child, was leading the life of a
nun at a place called St. Leonardo, with
a company of young girls whom she had
leathered around her, spending all their
time in devotional practices, though not
attached to any order. From her earliest
childhood Clara was religions and self-
denying, and longed to join her sister's
little community. At six she was allowed
to do so, and prepared herself for the
privilege by excessive austerities. At
9t Leonard's she fasted rigorously, slept
on a plauk on the ground, wore a hair
shirt and the roughest and coarsest
clothes, and used a scourge. Her sister
gave her a small oratory, and there she
had several visions. This community
of devout children grew until its first
habitation was too small. The girls on.
day saw a cross of li^'ht shining over St.
Catherine's, a neighbouring hill, and a
procession of nuns passing over the
summit. They therefore built a humble
monastery on the spot, which they c<>n-
:«•<! was pointed out to them by the
linger of God. They were in the diocese

of Spoleto, and they requested the bishop
to Ljive them a rule ; he gave them that
of St. Augustine. As they had spent all
their money in building, they were
obliged to live by begging. Clara
volunteered to be one of the mendicants,
notwithstanding her extreme repugnance
to the task. She never would pass the
threshold of a house where she begged,
but stood outside the door, whatever the
weather might be. This was partly lest
she should be tempted to break the rule
of silence. The sisters, finding her worn
out with the fatigue of her expeditions,
changed her duties, and kept her in the
house. She sought the hardest and
lowest work, she helped any overworked
sister. She became more and moro
detached from the world. She imposed
severe penances on herself for every sin
into which she fell ; for instance, having
spoken without sufficient necessity, sho
punished herself by standing barefooted
in ice-cold water while she repeated the
Lord's Prayer a hundred times. Jane
fell ill, and was restored to health for a
while by the prayers of Clara. Eight
years after the building of the monastery
on St. Catherine's Hill, Jane, who had
been its superior all that time, died.
Clara saw in a vision that her sister had
entered into eternal life. Clara was
chosen abbess in her sister's place. Sho
abated nothing of her self-mortification,
nor of her dislike and avoidance of the
parlour, though this was very grievous
to the ladies of tho neighbourhood, who
loved to come and gossip to the nuns.
I hit sho provided well for the bodily
needs of her nuns, lest their spiritual
life should suffer from earthly cares and
the fear of too great privation. Once
when that part of Umbria was suffering
from famine, angels in visible forms
brought baskets of bread to tho sister
hood, and this supply lasted until tho
famine was over. Her charity to tho
poor and tho sick was unbounded, and
for love of tho faithful departed not yet
resting in peace, sho had tho OUice of
the Dead recited daily in the choir. Her
devotion to the Passion of our Lord was
the ruling motive of her life. It was
always in her thoughts and in her in
structions to her nuns. She prayed that

186

ST. CLARA

she might see in spirit all tha't He had
suffered on Calvary and on the road to
Calvary. Her wish to realize what lie
had undergone was fulfilled. She felt
the thorns piercing her head with
agonizing sharpness, the taste of vinegar
and gall was in her mouth, she felt the
nails tearing through her hands and
feet, the pain and weariness of the
scourging, the shame of nakedness, the
shrinking from death. All these she
realized, so that more than any other
saint she bore about in her body the
marks of the death of Jesus Christ.

Once a nun interrupted Clara's exhor
tation by saying, " You promised that if
we would meditate diligently on the
Passion, we should have the comfort of
realizing the sufferings of our Lord ; but
I have never experienced anything of
the sort." Upon this, Clara had a mo
mentary feeling either of vanity or
impatience. She did not consent to the
temptation, but she did not repel it so
instantly and entirely as one so favoured
ought to have done. That moment her
Lord withdrew from her the grace she
had for a moment abused. An appalling
spiritual desolation took possession of
her soul; she was beset by scruples,
weariness, suggestions of the devil, blas
phemous or unclean. In vain she re
doubled her austerities. In vain she
begged the prayers of pious souls. God
seemed to have forsaken her. She took
no delight in prayer, she had no visions,
she had no certainty that she was not a
lost soul. This went on for eleven
years, and then her punishment was over,
and there was a great calm in her soul.
Visions and revelations were granted to
her ; she wrought miracles ; she pro
phesied events which afterwards occurred.
She lived for months entirely without
food. She again had those ecstasies
which had ceased for so many years.
One of them lasted for twenty-seven
days. Sick and even dead persons were
brought to be restored by her prayers.
Such was the fame of her sanctity, her
miracles, and the wonders she saw in
heavenly visions, that numbers of persons
came from all parts of the country to
see her. Christ told her He would plant
His cross in her heart, and she told her

nuns they would find the cross of Jesus
engraven there. She was told in her
visions that her years of anguish had
preserved many persons from impenitent
death, and that her repentance had washed
away all stain of sin. In August, l.'lus,
she lay dying for many days, happy at
the gates of Paradise. Twice during
her life she received the Holy Com
munion from the hands of Christ Him
self.

After her death her dead body was
opened, and the heart was found to have
a skin of unnatural hardness. On being
cut open, it displayed on the right side
a little picture of Christ on the cross,
about the size of a thumb ; on the
left, miniature effigies of the other
instruments of the Passion, not mere
pictures, for the lance was quite sharp.
Berengarius, the vicar-general, commis
sioned by the Bishop of Spoleto to assist
at the examination, pricked his finger
with it. In her intestines were found
three globules of equal weight. This
phenomenon showed her devotion to the
Holy Trinity, as the state of the heart
showed her constant contemplation of
the Passion of our Lord.

She was locally worshipped as a saint
from the time of her death. Her canoni
zation was begun in the 14th century,
by John XXII. Urban VIII. (HJi>:J-
1644) published the bull for her beatifi
cation. Her canonization was only com
pleted in 1 (SSI, under Pius IX., nearly
(500 years after her death. Her body lies
in a shrine behind the high altar of the
church dedicated in her name at Monte-
falco, where the sacristan will allow the
devout traveller to see her thin form in
the black dress of her order, the face
visible, beautiful, and peaceful, with eyes
closed as if in living, breathing sleep.
The miraculous heart and other relics
are also shown. Whenever a great
calamity threatens the Church, her blood,
which is dried up in a bottle, liquefies
and bubbles — the greater the calamity,
the longer it boils. This happened at
the beginning of the Reformation of
Luther and Calvin, and at the beginning
of the He volutions of 1847-41".

In the process of her canonization
under Pius IX., it was proved that she

Ji. CLAKA

lius moved her bead, hands, and feet of
lato years.

11. M. Baronins, Annali-s, !:;«'-. Cup»-r.
in .!.!.». I'M »11. Butler, Lives. Aim-
/trtft. i. p. 150U. Vaughan. Neligan,
>'(!/«//// C/i'iracters recently presented for
fioii, 1859. Collier. Husenboth,
A'//////' /i, x. Rev. William Lloyd, Saint*
// L881. Cornhill Mayazine, Oct., 1881,
"May in Umbria," 'by Mr. Y. A.
Symunds.

B. Clara (5) (CHIAIIKTTA, CHI AIM • -
< IA i and B. ILLUMINATA i>i (imv \S\KI.I.O,
\\ere lay-sisters under ST. CLAKA OF
ICoNTKFALOO. Jacobilli, S<inti iti'ir I'ni-
bria.

B. Clara «>), Jan. 22, of Rimini.
•f Feb. 1", L32& :5rd O.S.F. A very
young widow, frivolous and ambitious,
beautiful, selfish, luxurious, accom
plished. She seemed to have no heart.
The misfortunes of her family and
country were matter of indifference to
JUT ; she only cured to amuse and indulge
herself. One day, passing the church of
tin Franciscans, she felt an impulse to
enter, contrary to her custom. With
her beautiful hand, she took holy water
as a matter of course. An interior voice
said, " Clara, say one Pater and one Ave
from your heart, without thinking of any
thing else." She did so, and began to
repent. She did not tell anybody that
she was converted, but shut the door on
her admirers, left off her gay clothes,
fed on bread and water, but first roasted
a nasty creature, and compelled herself
it it, saying to herself, " Now, glut
ton, eat this tit-bit." She went bare
footed, and wore cords of iron around
her neck, arms, and knees. A cuirass
«•!' in in worn by her is still preserved at
Rimini. She spent whole nights in
prayer. In Lent, for thirty years, she
prayed in a hole in an old wall
to rain and cold. She carried
wood to the poor. Her earnest prayer
and deep contrition were rewarded by a
great power of converting sinners; one
of h«-r (•••nvi-rts was a widow whoso life
had IM en like ('hint's; one was a usurer
of Rimini. Her sanctity In-came so well
known that <1< -voiit persons desired to

be dirert.-d l,y her. Slio built thelllol.:is

of our Lady of the Angels. She

did not shut herself up, but went about
working as a charwoman. She was dis
tinguished for wisdom in her life, and
miracles after death. She was buried
in her monastery.

Pius VI. approved, in 17S4, the wor
ship already paid to her at Rimini.

Bussy, Cour tisanes Dewnues Suintes.
Civilt't Cnttolica, v. 277. Ordcmka-
l> a ilar. Prayer-book of the Order of
St. Francis.

St. Clara ( 7 ) of India, or THACLKAI-
M \NOTH, July 2. 14th century. When
India was divided into forty-seven Chris
tian kingdoms, King Seiosaflam reigned
over one of them, and lived at Scova, the
capital of all India. He spent a glorious
life fighting against all unbelievers and
heretics, and won the palm of martyrdom
on the field of battle. He had a beautiful
daughter, named Zemedemarea, which
means Fair, Clear, Illustrious. Under
very wonderful circumstances she became
a Dominican nun, translating her name
to Clara. She lived in her convent for
fifty years, never eating or drinking
except on Sundays, always sleeping on
ashes, never seeing her own skin, and
never washing. She preached to the
people in the Chaldean language. Sin-
died about 1,'Wo, and was highly vene
rated all over India. Pio, Vom&HGt*
Saints. Razzi, Predicatori, Florence,
i:>77. The Bollandists allude to the
story as an absurd fable.

B. Clara (s), April 17. t 14l!l-
Daughter of Peter Gambacorta, governor
of Pisa for twenty-four years. She had
a brother, B. Peter of Pisa, founder of a
congregation of the Order of St. Jerome.
She was christened TIIOKA or Tin -.01 M.I: \,
and married at six or seven to Simon de
Massa. Her voluntary fasts were so
strict that she suffered excessive pain
from hunger. When she was twelve,
her charity and liberality were so ex
treme that her father-in-law locked up all
his goods, lest she should give them to
the poor. She accompanied her father
when, in 1^7">, ho wont with the arch
bishop and the principal citizens of Pisa
t<> receive ST. CATHKUINK OF SIENA,
whom they had invited to nurse and
convert in the plague-stricken city of
Thora was much impressed and

188

B. CLARA

influenced by this great saint, and was
destined to effect the reform of the
Dominican convent life so much desired
by Catherine. When she was fifteen, she
was dangerously ill in the absence of her
husband. He died, and no one in the
house dared to tell her. She anticipated
the tidings by telling her father she
heard an unusual sound of bells, and
knew they were tolling for her husband's
death. She soon recovered, and betook
herself to the Franciscan convent of St.
Martin, without consulting her family.
They were very angry, and her brothers
went with a number of armed men and
broke open the gate. The terrified nuns
immediately gave up their novice, and
carried her into the church. It was
then found that she had lost the use of
her limbs, but this was restored on her
being allowed to remain a nun. To
prevent her going to one of the Francis
can convents at Rome, her brothers shut
her up in a small room without a bed or
the commonest comforts. In course of
time, her father permitted her to join a
sisterhood of Dominican nuns, where she
took the veil and the name of Clara.
He afterwards founded a small convent
of the same order, at Pisa, of which
she became prioress. Her sanctity was
attested by miracles, both during her
life and after her death. Her imme
morial worship was confirmed by Pius
VIII. R.M. Dominican Martyrology.
Papebroch, in AA.SS. From MS. by a
contemporary nun. Pio, Hist. Dom.
Saints. Mrs. Drane, Catherine of Siena.
The important part taken by her family
in the history of Pisa is told by Sismondi,
Italian Republics, iv.

B. Clara (!>;, Sept. in. Put to death
in 1(>22, at Nagasaki, in Japan, with
her husband, Domingo Xamada, or Ya-
manda, on the same day as BB. Spinola
and LUCY FREITAS.

SS. Clara (10) and Magdalene,
MM. 17th century. Beheaded in
Japan for the Christian faith, with their
father and mother, Michael and Ursula,
and a little brother. Honoured in the
Mcnoloyy of Lahcrius, but not by the
authority of the Church. AA.SS.

B. Clara (11), Dec. 2:>. f i»;4s.
B. CLARA BOURRELIKRE, or CLARA OF THE

CROSS. O.S.D. A native of Dijon.
When she was seven years old, the
Child Jesus appeared to her with a heavy
cross, and wanted her heart to plant the
cross in, as He meant to make her a new
Job. When very ill, she was very pious ;
when better, she became lukewarm in
her love of God. The company of other
young ladies distracted her. St. John
the Evangelist appeared to her with a
bandage on his eyes, because he had
wept so much about her relapse. She
became a nun in the monastery of St.
Catherine of Siena, at Dijon. The devil
afflicted her with frightful temptations
against innocence, faith, etc. She had
the gift of prophecy, and foretold the
birth of Louis XIV. long before the
queen had any expectation of becoming
a mother. Lima, Agiologio Dom.

Ven. Clara (12; of Jesus, Jan. 20
(TREVOR HANMEU, LADY WARNER;. IGtfG—
107o. O.S.F. Baptized by the name of
Trevor, after her godfather. Her father,
Thomas Ilanmer, held a good appoint
ment at the court of Charles I. ; her
mother, Elizabeth Baker, was maid of
honour to Queen Henrietta Maria. Both
were of the Anglican Church. After
their marriage, they lived at his country
house, Hanmer, in Wales, and there
Trevor was born. When Cromwell
usurped the power, and persecuted the
royalists and the Anglican Church, the
Hanmers were obliged to emigrate.
They lived for some time in a Roman
Catholic family in Paris, where Mrs.
Hanmer died. Thomas Haumer then
brought his daughter back to England,
and married her, in lt>.V.>, to Sir John
Warner, of Parham, in Suffolk, who,
like themselves, was of the Anglican
reform. Trevor had, however, imbibed
Catholic ideas, and her brother, who had
fled to Lisbon, had abjured the doctrines
of the Reformation, and kept exhorting
her to do the same. In 1GG4 Sir John
Warner, and his wife Trevor, Lady
Warner, became Roman Catholics, and
from that time lived a pious and ascetic
life, and resolved to become monk and
nun as soon as they had set their affairs
in order. This they did. He became a
Jesuit ; she joined the English Clares at
Gravelines, and took the name of Clara

ST. CLEOPATRA

IS!)

of Josus. She died in the convent at
the age of thirty-three, Jan. 2ii, h>7".
She had a niece, Elizabeth Warner, a
nun in the same convent, under the name
of Marie Claire, who died in the odour
of sanctity, Feb. 28, 1(>H2. P. F. X. de
Ram, Jluijinhyie National*, Vies des
/ . ' tc., daw les Ancicns Provinces
Bulges.

St. Claridonia, CHELIDOSIA.

Clarissa Mariscotti, ST. HYA
CINTH.

St. Clarissima, Jan. i:>, M. in
Greece, under Diocletian. Probably
same as EPIPHANIA, July 12.

St. Claudia (1), Aug. 7 false called
PKISCII i. \. K'rriNA, SABINKI.LA ). *f 9<».
Of noble birth in Britain, she was sent
tlu nee as a hostage to Rome, with her
Christian parents, in the reign of Clau
dius. There she married Aulns Pudons,
a senator of birth equal to her own.
They received St. Peter in their house,
where he baptized Pudcns. Claudia
was the mother of SS. Novatus, Timothy,
PRAXKDIS, and PUPENTIANA. After a
long and virtuous life, she died at an
estate of her husband's at Sabinum, in
Umbria ; her body was taken to Rome
by her children, and laid in the tomb of
their father Pudens. AA.SS. Wilson,
English Mart. Broughton, Eccl. Hist, of
Brit.

By another account her husband's
name was Rtifus Pudens, who, being a
Christian, was sent away from Rome,
and ordered to live in Britain. He
there married a fair princess, named
Claudia. After a time, Pudens was
recalled to Kome ; Claudia accompanied
him, [and took the name of RUFINA.
They wero in Rome when St. Paul was
1 >r< night before Nero the second time,
and they sent greetings to St. Timothy
Tim. iv. 21 ). The Pudens and
Claudia of St. Paul are, however, not
necessarily man and wife, as both names
were common.

St. Claudia ,(2), Jan. 2, M. in Ethi
opia or Jerusalem, with AUBIGA and
Uriii.A. AA.SS. from St. Jer<
Marty rology.

St. Claudia < :; >, Jan. 2, M. AA.SS.

St. Claudia (4), March 2<>, M.
Companion of AI.KX \MUIA (•'*). R.M.

St. Claudia (:.), May 2S, M. in
Galatia. AA.SS.

St. Claudia («'.), May is, V. M.
with ST. THECUSA.

St. Claudia (7), Dec. 14, V. M. at
Rome. Her body is preserved in the
church of the Twelve Apostles there.
History unknown. Ferrarius.

St. Claudia (H), Jan. 12, Dec. 27.
Mother of ST. EUGENIA. AA.SS.t Jan.
12, Prseter. P.P.

St. dementia (1), April 12, M.
AAJ3S.

St. dementia (2), May 2H, March
21. "fin*). Daughter of Adolphus,
count of Hohenberg (Bucelinus says
Homberg). Married Crafton, son of
Meginhardt, count of Spanheim, and,
with his consent, took the veil in the
convent of Horres, at Treves ; died in
great reputation for sanctity. Her name
is in several monastic martyrologies, but
she is not canonized. Crafton became
abbot of Spanheim. Bucelinus calls
him " Venerable," and dementia " Saint."
AA.SS., Pr&tcr., March 21.

St. Clementiana, Dec. 17. Formerly
honoured at Carthage.

St. Cleomata, a companion of ST.
UKHULA.

St. Cleopatra (1), Oct. 19. f c. 319.
In the persecution under Diocletian and
Maximian, seven holy men were im
prisoned in Egypt. St. Varus, a soldier
of Maximian's army, ministered daily
to their wants. One of them died, and
Yarns took his place, that ho might be
numbered with the martyrs. Maximian,
hearing of it, had him beaten and tor
tured to death. A certain woman of
Palestine, named Cleopatra, not daring
openly to confess herself a Christian,
went by night, with her son of twelve,
and her servants, took away the body of
Varus, embalmed it, and dug a grave
under her bed, and buried him there.
When the persecution ceased, and the
Christians had peace, Cleopatra pur
posed to return to her own country.
MM- went to the governor, and said,
" My husband was a very distinguished
soldier, and did good service in the wars,
but he is dead, and lies here, and has
never yet received the funeral honours
due to him. Therefore 1 pray your

190

ST. CLEOPATRA

highness that I may take him away and
give him proper burial." Tfle governor
granted her request, in consideration of
a large sum of money. St. Cleopatra,
however, left her husband in Egypt,
took St. Varus out of the ground, put
more spices and a rich robe round him,
and put him in a sack, with a quantity
of wool, so that no one might suspect
what she was carrying off, or attempt
to steal the martyr's body. For at this
time the Christians were beginning to
take courage to collect the remains of
the saints, and place them in the mon
asteries and raise monuments in their
honour. She buried him in the tomb
of her fathers, near Mount Tabor, and
adorned the sepulchre with lamps. It
very soon appeared that a saint was
buried there, for whoever went to the
tomb was cured of whatsoever disease
he had, so that great multitudes came,
and there was no room for them in the
tomb. Then Cleopatra determined to
build a church on the spot. She made
arrangements to send her young son to
the Emperor's court, that he might be
brought up as a soldier. This cost her
a great sum of money, but still she had
enough to build a church. When it
was finished, she invited all the bishops
and clergy she could collect, and a great
number of other Christians ; they made
a grand religious ceremony. She dressed
her son for the occasion in a robe and
girdle which had been laid on the body
of St. Varus. Cleopatra prayed to the
martyr that he would remember her
and her child before God, and that, as
she had suffered much in the persecu
tion, and had taken so much trouble to
hide his sacred body and to honour him
by building a church, he would impute
her good works to her boy, and obtain
for him health and salvation and favour
with the Emperor. As the guests de
parted, the child was smitten with fever.
The distracted mother did her utmost
to revive him, but without avail. She
took him in her arms, and held him in
her lap until midnight, when he died.
She then took him to the church, and
reproached the saint for giving such an
unkind return for her good works, and
such a disappointing answer to her

prayers. She told him that God had
raised many dead persons to life, and
conjured him to procure also the resus
citation of her son, or else to take her
also. The boy was a great favourite.
The servants, priests, and neighbours
wept all day with the bereaved mother,
and grieved that she had not received
a worthy reward for her piety. At mid
night she sank exhausted over her child,
and fell asleep. St. Varus appeared to
her, leading her boy by the hand ; they
were both girt with golden bands, and
wore cloaks that seemed to be made of
light. Their brooches shone like stars,
and they had crowns of stars on their
heads. Cleopatra was frightened, and
prostrated herself at their feet. St.
Varus bade her arise. He reproached
her for supposing him ungrateful for
all her care, and tho risks she had run
for his sake, and told her that, in grati
tude for her having placed him in the
tomb of her family, he had obtained
salvation from God for her and her son.
Then he went on to say, " Why do you
reproach me ? Did you not entreat me,
when you bnilt your church, to pray
that God would write your son's name
among those of His firstborn ? Did you
not pray that he might have an illus
trious rank in the army? Have I not
obtained him a place in the grandest of
all armies ? Did not you ask peace and
glory for him, and do you not see that
he has them ? And now take him back
if you will." The child entreated that
he might not be sent back to the sinful
world. To his mother he said, " Can
a mother envy her child, and wish to-
take him out of the royal court and
place him in poverty and darkness ? "
Cleopatra besought them to take her
with them. They answered, " You are
still with us while you remain in your
place, and we will come for you when
God wills." Tho child's body was still
in her arms. They bade her bury it
beside the martyr. She awoke, and told
her dream to her friends and servants,
took a white robe and spices and em
balmed her child, and laid him beside
St. Varus. All her female friends
advised her to dress him in the cloak
he had worn at the dedication of tho

ST. CLOTILDA

191

church, for they said, if she kept it, it
would bo a melancholy reminiscence of
her loss. But she would not. She
begged them to be present the next day,
that she might celebrate a festival in
honour of her son's assumption into the
army of angels. After the ceremony
she waited on her guests with great
appearance of joy. The two saints
again appeared to her on Sunday. After
seven years, during which they fre
quently visited her in divers manifesta
tions of glory, Cleopatra died, and was
buried 1>. -id.- her child and St. Yarns.
Benjamin Bossue, in AA.SS.

St. Cleopatra i -'), Oct. 2<». Nun in
Muscovy.

Represented in a nun's dress, with a
little boy in the dress of a nobleman.
But possibly the picture represents
( 'i.i:<»r\n;A ( 1).

It is conjectured that the Russ